BX  8936  .M54  1833 
Miller,  Samuel,  1769-1850 
Letters  to  Presbyterians 


w    \ 


%  .^-A 


T  . 


^. 


SjJSf  i^'l™'***''^'^^''* 


AUG  29  .1957 


PRESBYTERIA:srS. 


Jiresent  Crisis  in  the  Jlrestigtertan  Cftfturcfi 


UNITED   STATES. 


BY  SAMUEL  MILLER,  D.  D. 

Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  History  and  Church  Government  in  the  Theological 
Seminary  at  Princeton. 


f 

J^fitlatrtljJivCa : 

PUBLISHED   BY  ANTHONY   FINLEY 

John  C.  Clark,  Printer. 
1833. 


Entered  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1833,  by  Anthonv 
FiNLEY,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Eastern  District  of 
Pennsylvania. 


The  following  "Letters"  first  appeared 
in  "The  Presbyterian;"  and  are  now  pre- 
sented in  this  form,  revised  and  corrected 
by  the  Author,  at  the  request  of  the  Pub- 
lisher. 


CONTENTS. 


LETTER  I. 

Introductory  Remarks — Early  Rupture  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church, 1 

LETTER  n. 

Voluntary  Associations, IS 

LETTER  in. 

Voluntary  Associations,  and  Ecclesiastical  Boards,    .  34 

LETTER  IV. 

Voluntary  Associations,  and  Ecclesiastical  Boards,    .  49 

LETTER  V. 

Voluntary  Associations,  and  Ecclesiastical  Boards,    .  70 

LETTER  VI. 

Adherence  to  our  Doctrinal  Standards,  .89 

LETTER  VII. 
Adherence  to  our  Doctrinal  Standards,     ....  105 

LETTER  VIII. 

Adherence  to  our  Doctrinal  Standards,  .  .128 

LETTER  IX. 

Revivals  of  Religion,      .......    151 

LETTER  X. 

Revivals  of  Relisrion 174 


VI  CONTENTS. 

LETTER  XI. 

Adherence  to  Presbyterial  Order, 192 

LETTER  XII. 

Adherence  to  Presbyterial  Order, 210 

LETTER  XIII. 
Selecting  and  Licensing  Candidates,        ....  229 

LETTER  XIV. 
Religious  Education  of  the  Children  of  the  Church.  .  252 

LETTER  XV. 

Doing  good  as  a  Church, 271 

LETTER  XVI. 

Sectarianism. — Conclusion 295 


LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 


LETTER  I. 


Introductory  Remarks — Early  Rupture  in  the  Preshjterian 
Church. 
Christian  Brethren, 

In  every  community,  whether  ecclesiastical  or 
civil,  there  are  seasons  of  special  excitement,  and 
of  deep  interest,  which  cannot  fail  of  engaging  the 
attention  of  all  who  seek  its  Avelfare.  In  such  sea- 
sons it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  every 
member  of  the  body  be  calm  and  impartial;  and 
that  every  thing  consistent  with  fidelity  to  truth 
and  order,  be  done  to  avert  the  influence  of  preju- 
dice and  passion,  and  to  promote  the  reign  of  bro- 
therly love.  Such  a  season,  if  I  mistake  not,  now 
exists  in  that  part  of  the  religious  community  with 
which  it  is  our  privilege  to  be  connected.  Under 
this  impression  I  venture  to  address  you  on  a  few 
topics  which  appear  to  me  peculiarly  important  in 
the  present  state  of  our  country  and  church.  In  do- 
ing this,  I  claim  no  right  to  assume  the  office  of 
censor,  or  even  on  this  occasion,  of  an  instructor 
among  you.  But  as  your  friend  and  brother;  as  one 
born  and  bred  within  the  bosom  of  our  beloved 
Church;  and  who  has  been  permitted,  however  un- 
worthily, to  occupy  a  place  in  her  ministry  for  more 
than  forty  years; — you  will  not  wonder  that  I  feel 

A 


^  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

the  deepest  solicitude  for  her  prosperity;  and  that  I 
hope  to  be  forgiven  for  pouring  out  the  fulness  of  a 
heart  which,  unless  it  deceives  me,  desires  nothing 
more  unfeignedly  than  to  see  her  walking  in  peace, 
and  built  up  in  truth,  love,  and  holiness,  unto  salva- 
tion. Permit  me  then  to  say,  as  one  of  old  said,  after 
listening  to  much  discussion  of  a  very  diversified 
character,  in  a  circle  which  he  regarded  as  his  su- 
periors— ^'  I  also  will  show  mine  opinion." 

Never,  since  I  became  capable  of  using  a  pen, 
have  I  taken  one  in  hand  with  a  deeper,  and  more 
awful  sense  of  responsibility  than  at  present.  While 
I  write,  it  is  my  fervent  prayer  that  I  may  not  be 
permitted  to  give,  in  any  case,  a  wrong  touch  to  the 
ark  of  God.  And  it  is  my  earnest  desire  that  every 
reader,  in  entering  on  the  perusal  of  what  maybe 
written,  may  devoutly  lift  up  his  heart  to  Him  who 
has  the  residue  of  the  Spirit,  that  it  may  make  on 
no  mind  any  other  than  a  hallowed  and  useful  im- 
pression. 

I  hardly  need  say  that,  in  contemplating  the  pre- 
sent state  of  our  church,  there  are  some  considera- 
tions which  impress  my  own  mind  far  more  deeply 
than  they  can  be  expected  to  impress  the  minds  of 
those  who  are  much  younger  than  myself;  and  who 
have  not  been  placed  in  similar  circumstances.  My 
birth  and  early  life  were  cast  by  Providence  in  a  fa- 
mily, and  in  the  midst  of  a  population,  which  were 
deeply  agitated  by  an  old  controversy,  and  eventual 
rupture,  in  the  Presbyterian  Church: — a  rupture 
which,  for  seventeen  years,  divided  and  kept  asunder 
a  large  body  of  ministers  and  churches,  who  ought 
to  have  felt  that  they  were  one;  and  which,  for  a 
much  longer  time,  operated  as  a  worm  at  the  root  of 


LETTER    I.  3 

their  Christian  affection.  A  brief  sketch  of  the  rise, 
progress  and  consummation  of  that  deplorable  rup- 
ture, may  not  be  wholly  useless,  especially  to  the 
younger  part  of  those  whom  I  address.  It  is  always 
useful  to  "  remember  the  days  of  old,  and  to  consi- 
der the  years  of  former  generations.".  At  any  rate, 
if  the  sketch  which  I  propose  to  give,  should  an- 
swer no  other  purpose,  it  will  serve  to  show  why  I 
shrink,  with  a  kind  of  instinctive  horror,  from  every 
thing  adapted  to  produce  strife  and  division  in  our 
beloved  Church.  I  have  heard  so  much  under  my 
paternal  roof,  and  among  the  associates  of  my  youth, 
of  the  mischiefs  and  miseries  of  the  old  schism,  that 
I  feel  willing  to  sacrifice  every  thing  but  truth  and 
duty,  for  the  sake  of  avoiding  a  repetition  of  those 
melancholy  scenes. 

The  first  ministers  and  members  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church,  in  this  country,  were  chiefly  from  Scot- 
land and  the  north  of  Ireland.  They  were  generally 
driven  from  their  native  shores  by  persecution,  and 
sought  in  America  that  liberty  to  worship  God  ac- 
cording to  the  dictates  of  conscience  which  they  had 
been  denied  at  home.  They  settled  principally  in 
Pennsylvania,  West  Jersey,  Delaiuare  and  Maryland, 
because  in  those  colonies  alone  were  they  permitted 
to  enjoy  the  exercise  of  their  religious  rights  and 
privileges.  The  Puritan  settlers  of  Neiu  England 
do  not  appear  to  have  been  very  favourable  to  the 
introduction  of  the  Presbyterian  form  of  government 
and  discipline  into  the  midst  of  their  Congregational 
churches.  The  Episcopalians  in  Virginia  and  New 
York,  were  still  more  indisposed  to  extend  to  perse- 
cuted Presbyterians  the  rites  of  Christian  hospitality. 
But  in  Pennsylvania,  West  Jersey  and  Delaware,  the 


4  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

predominant  influence  was  that  of  the  Quakers^  who 
opened  their  arms  freely  to  all  denominations  to  set- 
tle among  them;  and  in  Maryland  the  adherents  to 
the  Romish  Church,  who  were  the  first  settlers,  from 
a  principle  of  policy,  so  far  deviated  from  their  wont- 
ed habit,  as  to  adopt  the  same  indulgent  system. 
These  circumstances  may  be  considered  as  the  main 
reason  why  the  first  Presbyterian  Churches  organ- 
ized in  any  of  the  American  colonies,  now  forming 
the  United  States,  were  almost  all  found  in  the  colo- 
nies before  mentioned. 

The  pious  founders  of  these  churches  were  warm- 
ly attached  to  the  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith, 
and  to  the  Presbyterian  form  of  ecclesiastical  go- 
vernment. To  these  they  had  been  accustomed  from 
their  youth,  and  deemed  them  important  to  the  edi- 
fication of  the  body  of  Christ.  On  these  principles 
they  associated;  and  to  sustain  this  scriptural  system, 
they  virtually  pledged  themselves  to  one  another  and 
to  the  church  of  God.  They  began  to  form  congre- 
gations on  this  plan  toward  the  close  of  the  seven- 
teenth century;  and  in  the  year  1704,  they  seem  to 
have  constituted  the  first  judicatory,  under  the  name 
of  the  "  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia." 

Very  soon  after  these  primary  organizations,  some 
who  had  been  bred  Congregationalists  in  South  Bri- 
tain, or  in  New-England,  acceded  to  the  new  body,  and 
consented  to  bear  the  name  and  act  under  the  order 
and  discipline  of  Presbyterians.  At  this  early  period, 
the  venerable  men  who  founded  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  though  strongly  attached,  as  before  stated, 
to  a  particular  system  of  faith  and  order,  which  it 
was  well  understood  they  wished  faithfully  to  main- 
tain;— had  not  formally  and  publicly  adopted   any 


LETTER  I. 


particular  Confession  of  Faith,  or  ecclesiastical  con- 
stitution. They  acted  under  a  plan  rather  under- 
stood than  officially  ratified^  but  which,  in  the  begin- 
ning, they  seem  to  have  carried  into  execution  with 
much  fraternal  harmony.  In  a  few  years,  however,  a 
degree  of  discord  began  to  appear.  Those  who  had 
been  bred  Presbyterians  were  desirous  of  carrying 
into  effect  the  system  to  which  they  had  been  accus- 
tomed in  all  its  extent  and  strictness;  while  those 
who  had  been  educated  in  Congregational  principles 
and  habits,  though  willing  to  bear  the  names  of  Pres- 
byterians, yet  wished  for  many  abatements  and  mo- 
difications of  Presbyterianism,  and  were  found  fre- 
quently encroaching  on  the  order  of  that  form  of 
ecclesiastical  government.  It  is  due  to  candour  to 
say,  that  the  Congregational  part  of  the  ministers, 
and  those  who  sided  with  them,  appear  to  have  been 
more  ardent  in  their  piety  than  the  strict  Presbyte- 
rians. At  any  rate,  it  is  undoubtedly  a  fact,  that  they 
urged  in  the  judicatories  of  the  Church,  with  peculiar 
zeal,  their  wishes  that  great  care  should  be  exercised 
respecting  the  personal  piety  of  candidates  for  the 
holy  ministry;  and  that  a  close  examination  on  expe- 
rimental religion  should  always  make  a  part  of  trials 
for  license  and  ordination.  The  strict  Presbyterians, 
on  the  one  hand,  were  zealous  for  the  Westminster 
Confession  of  Faith,  Catechisms,  Directory,  Presby- 
terial  order,  and  Academical  learning,  in  the  preach- 
ers of  the  Gospel;  while  they  appear  to  have  dis- 
liked the  close  examination  contended  for  in  regard 
to  personal  piety;  or,  at  least,  to  have  disapproved 
the  method  in  which  the  examinations  were  conduct- 
ed, as  being  different  from  any  thing  to  which  they 
had  been  accustomed  in  their  native  country.  On  the 
A  2 


6  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

Other  hand,  the  brethren  congregationally  inclined, 
provided  they  were  satisfied  on  the  score  of  personal 
piety,  did  not  set  so  high  a  value  on  human  learning, 
or  require  so  much  of  it  as  indispensable  in  candi- 
dates for  the  holy  ministry,  as  their  opponents  con- 
tended for;  but  were  too  ready  to  make  indulgent 
exceptions,  and  to  give  dispensations  as  to  this  point, 
and  even  in  violation  of  rules  to  which  they  had  vir- 
tually assented.  And,  in  some  instances,  they  pro- 
ceeded, with  indecent  haste,  and  in  defiance  of  order, 
to  license  and  ordain  candidates  whose  want  of  suit- 
able qualifications  gave  great  offence  to  the  more 
regular  part  of  their  brethren. 

In  1716,  the  number  of  ministers  had  increased  so 
far,  chiefly  by  emigrations  from  Europe^  that  they 
distributed  themselves  into  four  Presbyteries,  bear- 
ing the  names  of  PhUadelphiay  New-Castle^  Snow-Hill, 
and  Long  Island,  and  erected  a  Synod  under  the  name 
of  the  "  Synod  of  Philadelphia.''  About  this  time,  or 
a  little  before,  a  considerable  number  of  ministers, 
who  had  been  educated  Congregationalists,  entered 
our  Church,  more  particularly  several  in  East  Jer- 
sey, and  on  Long  Island.  This,  in  a  little  while,  gave 
rise  to  strife  and  difficulty.  Discrepant  views  and 
feelings  began,  to  a  greater  extent  than  before,  to 
appear.  The  great  importance  and  even  indispen- 
sable necessity  of  having  some  known  and  publicly 
acknowledged  standards  of  faith  and  order  became 
manifest.  For  although  all  professed  to  believe  in 
the  Bible,  yet  they  found  that  good  men  interpreted 
the  Bible  very  differently.  It  became  evident,  there- 
fore, by  painful  experience,  that  some  explicit  test, 
some  explanatory  statement,  by  the  application  of 
which  they  might  ascertain  in  what  manner  candi- 


LETTER   I.  7 

dates  for  license  and  ordination  understood  the  Bible, 
was  indispensable.  The  attainment  of  this  object 
was  the  result  of  several  years  discussion  and  con- 
flict. The  Congregational  part  of  the  ministers,  ge- 
nerally, opposed  with  warmth  the  adoption  of  a  Con- 
fession of  Faith,  both  from  the  pulpit  and  the  press. 
The  venerable  President,  Dickinson,  of  Elizabeth 
Town,  took  the  lead  in  this  opposition,  and  was  an 
able  writer  on  the  subject.  The  measure,  however, 
was  ultimately  carried.  In  1729,  the  Synod  passed 
what  was  called  the  "  Adopting  Act."  This  act 
consisted  of  a  public  authoritative  adoption  of  the 
Westminster  Confession  of  Faith  and  Catechisms,  as 
the  Confession  of  Faith  of  the  Church;  and  made  it  ne- 
cessary that,  not  only  every  candidate,  but  also  every 
actual  minister  in  the  Church,  should  be  obliged,  by 
subscription  or  otherwise,  in  the  presence  of  the  Pres- 
bytery, to  acknowledge  these  formularies  respectively, 
as  the  confession  of  their  faith.  This  act,  though,  as 
before  observed,  it  did  not  pass  without  much  opposi- 
tion, appears  to  have  been  adopted  by  a  large  majori- 
ty; and  was,  at  length,  peaceably  acquiesced  in  by  all. 
In  1734,  an  overture  was  brought  into  Synod,  con- 
cerning the  trials  of  candidates  for  the  ministry;  di- 
recting that  "  all  candidates  for  the  ministry  be  exa- 
mined diligently  as  to  their  experience  of  a  work  of 
sanctifying  grace  on  their  hearts;  and  that  none  be 
admitted  who  are  not,  in  a  judgment  of  charity,  se- 
rious Christians."  This  overture  was  adopted  una- 
nimously; and  thus  the  Congregational  party  were 
gratified  in  one  of  their  favourite  and  very  laudable 
objects.  In  1738,  the  Synod,  finding  that,  in  some  of 
the  Presbyteries,  in  which  the  brethren  who  were  in- 
clined to  Congregational  laxness  formed  a  majority. 


8  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

there  was  a  disposition  to  license  almost  any  young 
man  who  offered  himself,  however  great  a  novice  he 
might  be,  and  however  defective  in  literary  acquire- 
ments, provided  he  appeared  pious,  thought  it  their 
duty  to  pass  an  act,  directing  that  "  young  men  be 
first  examined  respecting  their  literature,  by  a  com- 
mission of  Synod,  and  obtain  a  testimony  of  their  ap- 
probation, before  they  can  be  taken  on  trial  by  any 
Presbytery."  This  act,  however,  though  regularly 
adopted  by  the  Synod,  was  not  duly  regarded  by  all 
the  Presbyteries;  and  especially  in  one  signal  in- 
stance, adapted  by  its  circumstances  to  create  gene- 
ral attention  and  deep  interest,  was  openly  set  at  de- 
fiance and  disobeyed,  by  those  ministers  who  had 
distinguished  themselves  by  opposing  strict  Pres- 
byterial  order.  Every  thing  of  this  kind  served,  of 
course,  to  exasperate  feelings  previously  excited,  and 
to  lay  a  train  of  combustible  materials,  ready  to  be 
kindled  into  a  flame,  whenever  an  occasion  occurred. 
The  ministers  and  their  respective  adherents  were 
now  arranged  into  two  parties.  The  friends  of  Pres- 
byterian order,  a  learned  ministry,  and  strict  adhe- 
rence to  the  Confession  of  Faith,  were  styled  Old- 
side-7nen,  or  Old-lights:  while  the  others  were  deno- 
minated NeW'Side-men,  or  New-lights.  These  par- 
ties, in  the  progress  of  collision,  became  more  ex- 
cited and  ardent.  Prejudices  were  indulged.  Misre- 
presentations took  place.  And  they  at  length  reach- 
ed a  stage  of  mutual  suspicion  and  animosity  which 
almost,  and  in  many  cases,  absolutely,  precluded  all 
intercourse  as  Christian  brethren. 

While  things  were  in  this  unhappy  state,  Mr.  White- 
field^  in  1739,  paid  his  second  visit  to  America.  The 
extensive  and  glorious  revival  of  religion  which  took 


LETTER   I.  9 

place  under  his  ministry,  and  that  of  his  clerical  ad- 
vocates and  adherents,  is  well  known.  The  cordial 
and  active  friends  of  this  revival  generally  coincided 
with  that  portion  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  which 
was  most  friendly  to  ardent  piety,  and  least  zealous 
for  Presbyterial  order,  Confessions  of  Faith  and  lite- 
rary qualifications  in  the  ministry.  While  the  strict 
Presbyterian  party,  perceiving  some  really  censura- 
ble irregularities  among  some  of  the  active  friends 
and  promoters  of  the  revival,  were  too  ready  to  pro- 
nounce the  whole  a  delusion.  This  brought  on  the 
crisis.  Animosities,  which  had  long  been  burning  in 
secret,  now  burst  into  a  flame.  Old-side-men,  under 
the  influence  of  prejudice,  regarded  their  opponents 
as  a  body  of  extravagant  and  ignorant  enthusiasts: 
while  the  New-side^  under  an  equally  strong  preju- 
dice, regarded  Old-side-men  as  a  set  of  pharisaical 
formalists.  Undue  warmth  of  feeling  and  speech, 
and  improper  inferences  were  admitted  on  both  sides. 
One  act  of  violence  led  to  another,  until,  at  length,  in 
the  year  1741,  the  highest  judicatory  of  the  church 
was  rent  asunder;  and  the  Synod  of  New  Yorh^  com- 
posed of  New-side-men,  was  set  up  in  a  sort  of  oppo- 
sition to  that  of  Philadelphia.  In  this  controversy, 
some  excellent  and  judicious  ministers,  believing 
both  sides  to  be  in  the  wrong,  could  not  fully  agree 
with  either.  These  took  no  part  in  the  controversy, 
as  such;  were  sometimes  claimed  by  both  parties; 
and  formed  that  connexion  as  to  Presbytery  and  Sy- 
nod,- which  was  most  convenient,  on  account  of  their 
local  circumstances.  And  even  some  of  those  who 
were  ranked  by  themselves,  as  well  as  by  others,  with 
one  or  the  other  of  the  parties  respectively,  disap- 
proved of  much  that  they  saw  in  both.    This  will 


10  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

not  appear  strange  to  those  who  are  acquainted  with 
the  human  heart,  or  who  have  witnessed  analogous 
scenes  in  later  times. 

In  this  controversy  there  were,  undoubtedly,  faults 
on  both  sides.  This,  indeed,  not  only  moderate  men, 
as  was  just  stated,  saw  at  the  tim.e,  but  even  some  of 
the  most  excited  and  fervent  actors  of  each  party  in 
the  humiliating  scene,  were  candid  enough,  after 
union  was  restored,  to  acknowledge,  and  on  account 
of  it  severely  to  censure  themselves.  The  Old-side 
were  wrong  in  opposing  the  revival  of  religion  under 
the  ministry  of  Whitefield  and  his  friends;  and  in 
contending,  as  they  did  at  first,  against  examinations 
on  vital  piety: — while  the  New-side  were  as  plainly 
wrong  in  frequently  violating  that  ecclesiastical  order 
which  they  had  stipulated  to  observe;  in  undervaluing 
literary  qualifications  for  the  holy  ministry;  and  in 
giving  countenance,  for  a  time,  to  some  real  extrava- 
gancies and  disorders  which  attended  the  revival  of 
religion.  That  the  New-side  men  were  sensible  of 
having  carried  to  an  extreme  their  comparative  dis- 
regard of  literary  qualifications,  and  of  mature  theo- 
logical study,  was  made  evident  by  their  strenuous 
and  successful  efforts,  a  few  years  after  they  became 
organized  as  a  party,  to  retrace  their  steps,  and  to 
establish  the  college  of  New  Jersey. 

These  errors  were  afterwards  seen  and  lamented. 
Both  parties  gradually  cooled.  Both  became  sensi- 
ble that  they  had  acted  rashly  and  uncharitably. 
Both  felt  the  inconvenience,  as  well  as  the  sin  of  di- 
vision. Congregations  had  been  rent  in  pieces.  Two 
houses  of  worship,  and  two  ministers  were  establish- 
ed in  places  where  there  was  not  adequate  support 
for  one.    The  members  of  one  Synod  were  excluded 


LETTER  T.  1  1 

from  the  pulpits  of  the  otherj  and  this  was  the  case 
even  when  individuals  cordially  respected  each  other, 
and  were  desirous  of  a  fraternal  interchange  of  minis- 
terial services.  Still,  although  both  parties  soon  be- 
came heartily  sick  of  the  division,  the  Synods  re- 
mained divided  for  seventeen  years.  The  first  over- 
ture towards  a  union  appears  to  have  been  made  by 
the  Synod  of  New  York,  in  the  year  1749.  But  nine 
years  were  spent  in  negotiation.  At  length  mutual 
concessions  were  made^  the  articles  of  union  in  de- 
tail were  agreed  upon^  and  the  Synods  were  happily 
united,  under  the  title  of  "the  Synod  of  Neiv  Fork  and 
Philadelphia^'  in  the  year  1758. 

Althooigh  this  breach  was  healed  eleven  years  be- 
fore my  birth,  yet,  in  my  youth,  I  heard  so  much  of 
its  melancholy  scenes,  and  witnessed  so  many  of  its 
mournful  effects,  that  I  hardly  need  say,  my  recollec- 
tions of  it  are  deeply  painful,  and  that  I  consider  it 
as  one  of  the  most  solemnly  admonitory  portions  of 
the  history  of  our  Church.  From  a  venerated  pa- 
rent, who  acted  his  part  with  other  ministers  in  the 
distressing  struggle;  and  from  a  number  of  his  cleri- 
cal friends,  with  whom  I  had,  in  early  life,  a  sort  of 
filial  acquaintance,  I  learned  so  much  of  the  miseries 
and  mischiefs  of  the  whole  scene;  of  the  wounds 
which  were  inflicted  on  private  feeling;  above  all,  of 
the  deeper  wounds  inflicted  on  the  cause  of  religion; 
and  of  the  deplorable  degree  in  which  the  hands  of 
ministers,  and  the  interests  of  many  churches,  were 
weakened  by  strife  and  schism; — that  you  cannot 
wonder  that  all  the  associations  in  my  mind  with 
that  history  are  peculiarly  painful;  and  that  it  is  im- 
possible for  me  to  witness  ecclesiastical  animosity 
and  alienation,  and  to  hear  suggestions  of  another 


12  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

rupture  in  our  beloved  Church,  without  much  more 
intense  anguish  of  spirit  than  seems  to  be  endured  by 
many  younger  men  who  make  or  hear  the  sugges- 
tion. I  shall  not  attempt  to  institute  a  comparison 
between  the  sources  of  the  spirit  of  the  old  animosi- 
ties which  I  have  described,  and  some  which  we  have 
witnessed  in  our  own  day.  This  will  be  left  to  the 
mind  of  each  reader  for  himself.  Suffice  it  to  say, 
that  if  we  refuse  to  profit  by  the  experience  of  our 
fathers,  we  may  be  said  to  spurn  some  of  the  choicest 
lessons  which  the  word  and  the  providence  of  God 
furnish  for  our  instruction. 

In  contemplating,  then,  the  present  state  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  in  comparison  with  its  former 
conflicts  and  trials,  the  following  questions  very  na- 
turally present  themselves  to  the  considerate  mind. 
Do  the  great  mass  of  the  ministers  and  members  of 
our  Church  diff*er  more  among  themselves  at  this 
hour,  than  did  those  who  directed  her  affairs  ninety 
years  ago,  at  the  date  of  the  unhappy  rupture  which 
has  been  described?  Did  not  the  good  men,  on  both 
sides,  who  acted  in  that  schism,  and  produced  it, 
deeply  lament,  afterwards,  what  had  occurred,  and 
severely  reflect  on  themselves  for  the  spirit  and  con- 
duct in  which  they  had  indulged.^  Did  not  the  same 
men,  after  seventeen  years,  actually  come  together 
again,  with  mutual  concessions,  and  with  many  la- 
mentations over  their  animosities  and  rupture.^  Is 
there  the  least  reason  to  believe  that  the  members  of 
either  parly  really  entertained  essentially  different 
opinions  on  any  important  points  when  they  effected 
a  union  in  1758,  from  those  which  they  entertained 
at  the  date  of  their  schism  in  1741.^  In  other  words, 
was  there  any  more  propriety,  on  principle,  in  their 


LETTER  I.  13 

being  united  in  1758,  than  there  was  in  their  remain- 
ing united  in  1741?  Is  there  not  reason  to  believe 
that  the  strife  and  division  which  so  long  agitated 
the  Church,  resulted,  not  merely  in  much  trouble  to 
pious  individuals  and  churches,  but  in  the  dishonour 
of  religion  before  the  worldj  in  hardening  and  driving 
farther  from  the  kingdom  of  God,  many  a  serious  in- 
quirer^  and  in  the  final  destruction  of  hundreds  of 
precious  souls,  alienated  and  confirmed  in  impiety  by 
the  controversies  of  Christians?  Would  it  be  wise, 
then,  at  the  present  day,  to  promote  a  second  rup- 
ture, only  to  reap  from  it  similar  fruits;  nay,  fruits 
of,  perhaps,  still  more  morbid  malignity;  and,  after 
a  few  years  of  embittered  strife,  to  come  together 
again,  as  our  fathers  did,  with  mutual  regrets  and 
humiliation,  for  having  ever  separated,  and  without 
one  important  object  having  been  gained  by  the  se- 
paration? 

While  I  offer  these  queries  for  solemn  considera- 
tion, you  will  do  me  great  injustice,  if  you  suppose 
me  to  entertain  the  opinion,  that  those  who  are  not 
agreed  upon  the  fundamental  principles  of  evangeli- 
cal truth  and  order,  ought,  nevertheless,  to  be  united 
in  church  communion.  "How  can  any  walk  toge- 
ther except  they  be  agreed?"  Though  the  Church 
is  one;  and  though  all  who  are  united  to  the  Head 
are  "  one  body  in  Christ,  and  every  one  members  one 
of  another;" — yet  there  can  be  no  valuable  commu- 
nion of  saints  without  communion  in  the  essentials 
of  Christian  truth.  Of  course,  where  differences 
among  professing  Christians  relate  to  fundamentals, 
they  cannot  "  walk  together."  To  attempt  it  would 
be  solemn  mockery.  The  great  question  is,  at  what 
point  of  difference  ought  they  to  separate?     That 

B 


14  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

some  differences  in  the  mode  of  explaining  truth, 
must  be  tolerated,  and  even  expected,  among  those 
who  bear  the  same  denomination  and  comraiune  at 
the  same  sacramental  table,  is  too  manifest  to  require 
proof.  If  this  were  not  the  case,  no  ten  men  in  the 
Christian  world  could  unite  in  the  same  ecclesiasti- 
cal body.  Or  rather,  as  no  two  men  on  earth  per- 
fectly agree  in  all  their  habits  of  thinking  on  all  sub- 
jects, and  even  on  all  theological  subjects,  it  is  plain, 
if  no  diversity  of  sentiment  be  admissible,  that  there 
must  be  as  many  different  ecclesiastical  communions 
as  there  are  men. 

Some  differences  of  opinion,  then,  among  those  in 
the  same  communion  must  necessarily  be  allowed. 
How  far  they  may  be  safely  indulged,  is  the  great 
question.  In  solving  this  question,  there  are,  doubt- 
less, extremes  on  each  side  which  ought  carefully  to 
be  avoided.  The  true  course,  if  we  can  find  it,  is 
between  these  extremes.  If  there  be  individual  mi- 
nisters and  members  in  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
who  depart  so  widely  from  its  professed  faith  and 
order,  that  they  ought  never  to  have  entered  it^  and 
even  having  entered  it,  cannot,  consistently  with  good 
faith,  remain  in  it  for  a  single  day — which  I  neither 
affirm  nor  deny — but  of  which  some  assuredly  enter- 
lain  the  painful  apprehension — I  certainly  plead  for 
nb  latitude  which  would  either  justify  their  original 
reception,  or  encourage  their  continuance  in  our  body. 
But  admitting  that  there  are  such  ministers  in  our 
communion — which  I  pretend  not  to  decide— that 
their  number  is  considerable,  I  have  never  seen  rea- 
son to  believe;  and  that  a  very  large  majority — nay 
nineteen-twentieths  of  the  whole  number  of  our  mi- 
nisters, are  sufficiently  near  to  the  scriptures  and  to 


LETTER    1.  15 

each  other,  in  respect  to  all  the  essentials  of  truth,  to 
be  comfortably  united  in  Christian  fellowship  and 
co-operation,!  cannot  allow  myself  to  doubt.  Surely, 
if  this  be  the  case,  for  such  brethren  to  "part  asun- 
der," and  form  separate  denominations,  would  be 
unnecessarily,  nay  criminally,  to  "  rend  the  body  of 
Christ."  What  would,  probably,  be  the  character 
and  the  consequences  of  such  a  rupture?  If  a  single 
definite  line  between  existing  parties  could  be  drawn, 
and  a  separation  amicably  effected,  perhaps  we  might 
say,  the  sooner  it  is  done  the  better.  A  quiet  separa- 
tion would  certainly  be  better  than  a  mere  nominal 
union  with  protracted  strife.  But  such  a  single  defi- 
nite line  could  not  be  drawn,  or  if  it  could,  would  not 
suffice.  Our  body  would  be  sundered  into  at  least 
four  or  five  parts.  Synods  would  be  divided  into  se- 
veral parts.  Presbyteries  would  be  rent  in  pieces. 
Congregations  would  be  found,  in  a  multitude  of  cases, 
to  be  made  up  of  members  of  different  sentiments, 
and,  of  course,  be  severed  into  two  or  three  sections, 
neither  of  which  would  be  able  to  sustain  the  regular 
ministrations  of  the  Gospel.  Controversies  also 
without  end  respecting  church  property,  would  pro- 
bably be  engendered;  unhallowed  passions  would  be 
excited;  friends  would  be  separated;  families  be  pain- 
fully divided;  the  Saviour  "would  be  crucified  afresh, 
and  put  to  an  open  shame"  among  nis  professed  dis- 
ciples; and  Zion  would  lie  bleeding  and  dishonoured 
in  the  sight  of  an  unbelieving  world: — and  all  this  for 
what?  Only  to  remain  apart  for  a  little  while;  to 
make  work  for  bitter  repentance;  to  patch  up  an  ig- 
noble peace,  to  come  together  again  as  before,  with- 
out removing  a  single  real  evil,  or  attaining  a  single 
real  advantage;  and  after  having  driven  off  hundreds. 


16  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

it  may  be  thousands  of  souls  into  hardened  impiety 
and  perdition.  For,  that  two  or  more  such  bodies  as 
could  be  formed  out  of  the  mass  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  at  the  present  day;  out  of  such  men  as  were 
unanimous  in  adopting  such  a  "  Narrative  of  the 
State  of  Religion,"  and  such  a  "  Pastoral  Letter," 
as  were  sent  forth  by  the  last  General  Assembly — 
could  long  consent  to  remain  separate,  in  this  day  of 
noble  catholic  enterprise,  is  altogether  incredible. 

My  voice  then,  is  not  for  division,  but  for  peace 
AND  continued  UNION.  It  is  for  softcuiug  aspcritics^ 
for  reconciling  differences;  for  "putting  away  all 
bitterness,  and  wrath,  and  evil  speaking;"  for  follow- 
ing with  ceaseless  diligence,  "  those  things  which 
make  for  peace;" — in  a  word,  for  labouring  to  turn 
away  our  own  minds,  and  the  minds  of  others  from 
all  non-essential  points  of  difference,  and  striving 
with  one  accord  to  promote  a  spirit  of  brotherly  love, 
and  of  hearty  co-operation  in  the  great  practical  work 
of  converting  the  world  to  the  knowledge  and  love  of 
the  Saviour.  Let  us  take  this  course;  let  us  put  away 
our  philosophical  refinements  and  subtleties;  let  us 
come  back  to  that  mode  of  preaching  which  accords 
with  the  plainness  and  simplicity  of  the  scriptural 
model;  let  us  lay  aside  speculation,  and  endeavour  to 
be  absorbed  ourselves,  and  to  engage  others,  in  the 
grand  enterprise  of  spreading  the  knov/ledge  of  that 
"  Gospel  which  is  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation 
to  every  one  that  believeth."  Let  us  do  this,  and  all 
will  be  well.  Our  beloved  Church  will  soon  be  more 
united  than  ever;  and  will,  by  the  blessing  of  God, 
be  prepared  to  go  forward  with  greatly  augmented 
degrees  of  harmony,  zeal  and  love,  in  the  great  work 
of  the  conversion  of  the  world. 


LETTER    I.  17 

But  in  order  to  our  pursuing  this  course  with  com- 
fort, and  especially  with  any  hope  of  success,  a  few 
corrections  of  our  present  procedure  will  be  indis- 
pensably necessary.  If  we  pertinaciously  refuse  to 
admit  corrections  as  to  the  points  contemplated,  we 
shall  undoubtedly  be  broken  in  pieces.  These  points 
it  will  be  my  endeavour  to  exhibit  in  the  following- 
papers,  without  reserve,  and  in  a  spirit  of  cordial  con- 
ciliation. I  have  no  wish  to  denounce  or  criminate. 
My  aim,  as  I  stated,  is  peace: — and  as  nothing  but 
truth  can,  ultimately,promote  genuine  peace — my  de- 
sire is  to  ^'  speak  the  truth  in  love."  I  write  under 
the  impression  that  my  race  is  almost  runj  that  I  can 
have  no  real  interest  but  in  the  harmony,  purity,  and 
edification  of  the  Churchy  and  that  what  I  write,  as 
well  as  the  spirit  with  which  it  is  read,  will  soon  pass 
in  review  before  that  tribunal  where  every  disguise 
will  be  stripped  off,  and  "  all  things  will  appear 
naked  and  open  to  the  eyes  of  Him  with  whom  we 
have  to  do." 

Princeton,  January  1st,  1833. 


LETTERS  TO    PRESBYTERIANS. 


LETTER  II. 

Voluntary  Associations. 

Christian  Brethren, 

It  is  in  vain  to  hope  for  solid  peace  in  our  beloved 
Church,  as  long  as  views  so  discordant,  and  feelings 
so  excited  in  regard  to  the  relative  claims  of  Eccle- 
siastical Boards,  and  Voluntary  Associations,  as  have 
recently  prevailed,  continue  to  prevail,  and  to  be  warm- 
ly urged.  In  reference  to  this  subject  there  appear  to 
me  to  be  faults  on  both  sidesj  faults  which,  if  carried 
to  the  extreme,  and  pressed  with  the  zeal,  which  we 
have  often  witnessed,  must  keep  the  Church  in  con- 
stant commotion,  and  ultimately  rend  her  in  pieces. 

I  have  spoken  of  extremes  of  partisans  on  both 
sides  in  this  controversy.  My  meaning  shall  be 
stated  with  all  plainness  and  candour.  I  have  reason, 
then,  to  believe,  that  there  are  many  ministers  and 
members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, who  are  consci- 
entiously of  the  opinion  that  the  Church,  as  such, 
that  is,  by  her  appropriate  judicatories,  cannot  con- 
duct the  missionary  enterprise,  or  the  education  of 
youth  for  the  gospel  ministry,  with  any  advantage; 
that  she  ought  not  to  attempt  it^  that  every  thing  of 
this  kind  can  be  more  easily  and  far  better  done,  by 
Voluntary  Associations.  And,  accordingly,  it  is 
their  earnest  desire,  if  I  understand  their  wishes  and 
aims,  to  combine  the  whole  evangelical  influence, 
throughout  the  United  States,  especially  the  undivi- 
ded strength  of  the  Presbyterian  and  Congregational 
Churches,  in  national  institutions,  for  conducting  the 


LETTER    II.  19 

missionary  and  education  causes,  independently  of 
all  ecclesiastical  judicatories.  And,  for  the  attain- 
ment of  this  object,  they  are  desirous,  unless  I  am 
deceived,  of  taking  every  thing  of  this  kind  out  of 
the  hands  of  the  General  Assembly^  or,  at  least,  of 
so  amalgamating  the  Boards  of  "Missions,"  and  of 
"  Education,"  under  the  care  of  the  Assembly,  with 
their  corresponding  Voluntary  Associations,  as  to 
divest  the  former  of  all  ecclesiastical  character,  and 
make  them,  if  not  tributary  to  the  latter,  at  any  rate 
so  connected  with  them,  as  to  implicate  their  move- 
ments very  essentially,  with  the  will  of  national  and 
irresponsible  institutions.  And  hence  those  who 
adopt  these  views  are  sometimes  too  ready  to  stig- 
matize all  such  plans  and  measures  as  have  for  their 
object  the  establishment,  or  the  invigoration  of  Ec- 
clesiastical Boards,  as  "  high-church"  plans,  and 
those  who  favour  them  as  "  high-church  men^"  who 
are  rather  sticklers  for  a  party,  than  liberal  and  mag- 
nanimous friends  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom. 

I  am  far  from  charging  the  brethren  who  enter- 
tain these  opinions  and  wishes  with  having  sinister 
aims,  or  with  pursuing  their  object  by  unhallowed 
means.  On  the  contrary,  I  consider  them  as  truly 
pious  men,  who  verily  believe  that  their  views  and 
plans  are  most  in  accordance  with  the  cause  of  God, 
and  best  adapted  to  expedite  the  conversion  of  the 
world.  I  allow  them,  in  short,  the  same  candour  and 
honesty  of  purpose  that  I  claim  for  myself.  Yet  I 
can  by  no  means  concur  with  them  in  opinion.  They 
go  to  an  extreme  from  which  both  judgment  and 
conscience  compel  me  to  draw  back. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  some  v/arm  friends 
of  Ecclesiastical  Boards,  who  appear  to  me  to  go  to 


20  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

the  opposite,  and  an  equally  injurious  extreme.  They 
believe,  if  I  understand  them,  that  all  Voluntary  As- 
sociations, from  the  circumstance  of  their  not  being 
responsible  to  any  ecclesiastical  authority,  are  dan- 
gerous, and  ought  to  be  discouraged.  They  suppose 
that  all  measures  for  sending  the  Gospel  to  the  des- 
titute, or  training  candidates  for  the  holy  ministry, 
ought  to  be  conducted  by  the  Church  alone,  in  her 
appropriate  capacity,  in  conformity  with  her  laws, 
and  on  a  plan  subject  to  her  control.  It  is  not  only 
the  business  of  the  Church,  in  their  opinion,  to  take 
the  lead  in  all  these  measures^  but  they  go  further 
and  maintainj  that  measures  of  this  kind  which  are 
not  subjected  to  her  authoritative  direction,  are  so 
liable  to  become  irregular,  and  even  lawless,  that 
they  are  quite  as  likely  to  issue  in  ^vil  as  in  good^ 
and,  therefore,  that  no  member  of  the  Church  of 
Christ  can  wisely  or  safely  aid  such  associations 
either  by  his  money,  or  his  influence.  Some  of  the 
most  enlightened  and  pious  ministers  and  members 
of  our  Church,  it  is  well  known,  entertain  these 
opinions,  and  take  a  corresponding  ground,  espe- 
cially in  relation  to  the  "  Home  Missionary  Society," 
and  the  "  American  Education  Society."  They  fore- 
see many  dangers  as  likely  to  arise  from  the  growing 
influence  of  these  institutions;  and,  of  course,  consi- 
der every  degree  of  patronage  extended  to  them,  as 
so  much  thrown  into  the  scale  of  real,  though  not 
intended,  hostility  to  the  Church. 

With  those  who  cherish  these  feelings,  it  is  as  im- 
possible for  me  to  concur  as  with  those  who  go  to 
the  other  extreme.  Their  zeal  for  the  truth,  and  for 
the  purity  of  the  Church,*  and  their  vigilance  in  warn- 
ing and  guarding  against  even  possible  dangers  are 


LETTER    II.  2i 

certainly  commendable.  But  that  they  carry  their 
apprehensions  and  jealousies  altogether  too  far;— • 
much  farther  than  either  justice,  or  sound  policy  war- 
rants, I  cannot  help  feeling  persuaded.  And  hence, 
from  the  course  which  they  think  it  their  duty  to 
take  in  relation  to  this  matter,  I  am  constrained  en- 
tirely to  dissent.  It  is  true,  I  have  no  doubt,  as  be- 
fore stated,  that  there  are  individuals  in  the  Presby- 
terian Church;  and  individuals  of  no  small  worth 
and  influence,  who  do  really  entertain  the  opinions, 
and  aim  at  the  object,  which  their  brethren  impute 
to  them.  They  do  wish  either  to  put  down  Ecclesi- 
astical Boards,  as  such,  or  to  subject  them  to  some 
system  of  controlling  connexion  with  their  favourite 
Voluntary  Associations.  And  they  do  honestly  be- 
lieve that  in  striving  to  accomplish  this  object,  they 
are  most  effectually  promoting  the  interests  of  the 
Redeemer's  kingdom.  Yet  the  number  of  these  mis- 
taken partisans,  is  not,  in  my  opinion,  so  great  as 
many  imagine;  and  if  it  were,  the  true  way  to  coun- 
teract them,  is  by  no  means,  that  of  denouncing,  and 
endeavouring  to  depress  Voluntary  Associations,  as 
such;  but  by  employing  all  lawful  means  to  infuse 
new  life  and  activity  into  Ecclesiastical  Boards;  and 
by  making  it  manifest,  while  we  support  with  zeal 
our  own  denomination,  that  we  regard  with  a  benevo- 
lent eye  every  institution  which  honestly  raises  the 
banner  of  Christ,  and  appears  in  any  wise  adapted  to 
extend  his  reign. 

The  view  which  I  take  of  the  whole  subject  is  this. 
Every  church,  that  is,  every  separate  denomination 
of  Christians,  as  such,  owes  it  to  her  Master  in 
heaven,  and  to  herself,  to  propagate,  by  all  fair  and 
lawful  means,  and  as  extensively  as   possible,  that 


22  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

system  of  truth  and  order  which  she  believes  is  found 
in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  This  is,  undoubtedly,  one  of 
the  grand  purposes  for  which  the  Church  was  insti- 
tuted^  that  is,  to  maintain  and  extend  the  true  reli- 
gion. And  if  she  really  believes  her  doctrine,  wor- 
ship and  discipline  to  be  agreeable  to  the  will  of 
Christ, — which  she  of  course  does  believe,  if  she  be 
sincere  in  her  profession, — she  is  plainly  bound  to 
bear  testimony  in  their  favour^  to  defend  them 
against  all  opposers;  and  to  extend  the  knowledge  of 
them  by  all  the  means  in  her  power.  In  fact,  every 
church  that  would  be  faithful  to  the  great  purpose 
for  which  she  was  founded,  ought  to  consider  herself 
in  her  ecclesiastical  capacity — as  a  MissiONARY  and 
Education  Society,  whose  mam  business  it  is  to 
maintain  in  perfect  purity,  and  to  spread  abroad  to 
every  creature,  all  the  known  doctrines  and  institu- 
tions of  Jesus  Christj  and  to  take  measures  for  rais- 
ing up  well  qualified  and  faithful  men  for  performing 
this  work.  These  things,  as  is  perfectly  manifest 
from  Scripture,  are  not  only  the  appropriate  duty  of 
the  Churchy  but  they  constitute  her  principal  duty. 
She  ought  not,  indeed,  to  be  bigotedly  or  blindly  at- 
tached to  those  peculiarities  which  form  her  distinct- 
ive testimony  as  a  Church.  She  ought  not  to  indulge 
an  offensive,  proselyting  spirit^  far  less  ought  she, 
with  fierce  and  fiery  zeal,  or  by  any  sinister,  or  unfair 
means  whatever,  to  attempt  to  enlarge  her  borders. 
But  still  it  is  her  duty,  by  all  honest,  honourable,  and 
Christian  means,  to  endeavour  to  propagate  "  the 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,"  among  all  whom  she  can 
reach.  And  I  will  add,  that  Church  which  contri- 
butes largely  of  the  pecuniary  means  which  God  has 
given  her,  towards  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel, 


LETTER    II.  23 

and  yet  gives  the  application  of  these  means  entirely- 
cut  of  her  own  hands,  to  an  irresponsible  body  or 
bodies  of  men,  who  may  or  may  not  employ  them  for 
the  support  of  genuine  evangelical  truth  and  order; — 
may  be  pious,  zealous  and  active; — but  surely  cannot 
be  considered  as  faithful  in  sustaining  her  own  con- 
fession and  testimony  as  a  body  of  "  witnesses"  for 
Christ.  I  am  aware  tha.t  some  call  this  "  sectarian- 
ism," and  "high-church"  doctrine.  But  those  who 
thus  stigmatize  it,  show  that  they  understand  neither 
the  authorized  meaning  of  terms,  nor  the  nature  of 
Christian  duty.  Such  persons  would,  undoubtedly, 
if  they  had  lived  in  the  first  century,  have  brought 
the  same  charge  against  the  Saviour  himself,  and  his 
inspired  apostles.  For  they  constantly  enjoined  it  on 
the  churches  to  which  they  wrote,  to  "hold  fast  the 
form  of  sound  words  which  they  had  received;"  to 
"  contend  earnestly  for  the  faith  once  delivered  to 
the  saints,"  against  "all  gainsayers;"  and  to  "keep 
the  ordinances  as  they  had  been  delivered  unto 
them." 

It  is  beautiful,  indeed,  and  truly  edifying,  in  this 
day  of  multiplied  sects  and  parties,  to  see  the  disci- 
ples of  Christ  acknowledging  the  substantial  unity  of 
the  visible  Church;  to  see  them  taking  by  the  hand 
Christians  of  different  evangelical  denominations,  as 
brethren  in  Christ;  communing  with  them,  and  joy- 
fully co-operating  with  them  in  plans  and  efforts  for 
extending  the  Redeemer's  kingdom.  All  this  may 
be  done  without  the  sacrifice  of  a  single  truth  or  duty; 
nay  to  the  great  advancement  of  Christian  edification. 
But  when  those  who  profess  to  consider  themselves 
as  "witnesses  for  God,"  in  the  midst  of  a  dark  and 
unbelieving  world,  are  willing  to  merge  their  testi- 


24  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

mony  in  that  of  the  general  undistinguishingmass  of 
nominal  Christianity; — to  give  up  every  point  which 
discriminates  between  a  pure  and  a  corrupt  profes- 
sion; to  break  down  every  fence  which  excludes  er- 
ror; and  to  pronounce  all  steady,  consistent  endea- 
vours to  maintain  the  genuine  faith  and  order  of  the 
Gospel,  "sectarian  bigotry,"  or  "high-church  into- 
lerance;"— they  may  greatly  applaud  themselves  as 
patterns  of  expanded  charity;  but  they  rather  deserve 
the  title  of  latltudinarians;  and  so  far  as  their  influ- 
ence extends,  are  preparing  the  way  for  that  false  li- 
berality which  really  confounds  truth  and  error,  and 
generally  terminates  in  the  extreme  of  laxity  and  in- 
difference. 

So  far,  then,  from  seeing  any  solid  objection  to 
Ecclesiastical  Boards,  for  spreading  the  Gospel,  and 
for  educating  young  men  for  the  sacred  ministry;  I 
think  I  see  very  obvious  and  powerful  reasons  why 
every  denomination  of  Christians,  as  such,  should 
have  in  constant  and  vigorous  operation  a  missionary 
system,  for  publishing  and  extending  the  Gospel,  ac- 
cording to  their  views  of  scriptural  purity;  sending 
forth  itinerant  preachers;  disseminating  books  adapt- 
ed to  inculcate  what  they  deem  sound  principles; 
planting  churches  of  their  own  order;  and  thus, 
while  they  are  ready  and  liberal  in  contributing  to 
the  cause  of  Christ  in  general, — bending  their  first 
and  principal  eff*orts  towards  the  propagation  of  that 
pure  system  which  Christ  has  committed  to  his 
Church  to  be  maintained  against  all  adversaries,  and 
to  be  extended  as  widely  as  possible.  This  is  what 
all  denominations  around  us  are  professing  to  do,  and 
we  commend  them  for  it.  And  when  the  teachers 
and  rulers  of  any  church  neglect  to  do  this  with  con- 


LETTER  II.  25 

stancy  and  zeal,  they  are  unfaithful  to  the  body  of 
which  they  are  the  appointed  guardians^  unfaithful 
to  the  Master  who  has  called  them  to  their  office; 
and  unfaithful  to  the  great  purpose  which  the  visible 
Church  was  founded  to  accomplish.  I  repeat  it — 
as  I  read  and  understand  the  Bibte,  I  am  constrained 
with  unwavering  confidence,  to  pronounce,  that  how- 
ever numerous,  powerful  and  active  other  missionary 
associations  around  her  may  be,  every  Church — un- 
less she  would  forget  her  primary  duty,  ought  to 
consider  herself  as  constituted  by  Christ  a  great  Mis- 
sionary AND  Education  Society,  for  the  express  pur- 
pose, as  far  as  means  are  possessed,  of  evangelizing 
the  world;  and,  as  one  essential  instrumentality  for 
accomplishing  this  object,  to  raise  up  an  able  and 
faithful  ministry.  This  object  she  is,  no  doubt,  bound 
to  pursue  with  unwearied  zeal,  until  the  Church  shall 
fill  the  world. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  I  am  quite  as  well  per- 
suaded that  Voluntary  Associations,  for  benevolent 
and  pious  objects,  and  among  the  rest,  for  spreading 
the  Gospel,  have  been  eminently  useful;  may  still  be 
eminently  useful;  and  ought  by  no  means  to  be  de- 
nounced or  opposed.  They  may  do  much,  in  their 
appropriate  sphere,  which  cannot,  perhaps,  be  ac- 
complished by  any  other  means.  They  may  enlist  as 
zealous  and  active  coadjutors,  many  whom,  possibly, 
no  ecclesiastical  body  could  attract  or  engage.  They 
may  gain  access  to  persons  and  places  which  no  ec- 
clesiastical board  could  so  well,  or  even  at  all,  reach. 
Their  movements,  precisely  because  they  are  irre- 
sponsible and  unshackled,  may  be  eminently  charac- 
terized by  extent,  popularity  and  vigour.  And  they 
may  even  benefit  ecclesiastical  bodies,  by  "  provoking 

c 


26  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

them"  to  warmer  zeal  and  more  extended  effort.  I 
have,  therefore,  cordially  rejoiced  in  the  existence, 
for  example,  of  such  a  body  as  the  "American  Home 
Missionary  Society."  I  was  a  hearty  friend  to  its 
institution^  became,  as  soon  as  practicable,  one  of  its 
life-members;  have  contributed  to  its  treasury  since; 
and  mean  to  do  so,  if  Providence  permit,  again.  I 
have,  therefore,  been  glad  to  witness  its  prosperity; 
and  cannot  for  a  single  moment  doubt,  that  it  has 
been  eminently  useful.  Such  has  ever  been,  and  is 
now,  my  estimate  of  this  important  Society.  My 
first  and  warmest  affection,  I  acknowledge,  is  given  to 
the  General  Assembly's  "Board  of  Missions,"  as  the 
organ  for  strengthening  and  extending  that  Church 
which  I  verily  believe  to  be  the  purest  and  most 
apostolical  on  earth.  To  that  Church  I  consider  my 
special  and  peculiar  devotion  as  due.  Just  as  I  sup- 
pose that  every  father  of  a  family  owes  his  first  atten- 
tion and  solicitude  to  his  own  household,  to  which 
he  is,  of  course,  bound  by  peculiar  ties.  He  who  has 
solemnly  joined  himself  by  formal  vows  to  a  particu- 
lar Christian  denomination,  because  he  professed  to 
think  it  nearer  the  scriptural  model  than  any  other; 
and  yet  feels  himself  under  no  special  obligation  to 
consult  the  welfare  and  advancement  of  that  denomi- 
nation; must  labour  under  some  grievous  intellectual 
or  moral  obliquity.  To  call  a  man  "  bigoted,"  a 
"  sectarian,"  or  a  "high-churchman,"  because  he  de- 
cisively/Jre/ers  to  all  others  the  Church  to  which  he 
has  solemnly  pledged  his  membership  and  his  affec- 
tion; and  to  insist  that  he  is  equally  bound  to  approve, 
and  equally  bound  to  sustam,  all  other  denominations; 
—is  as  perfect  an  affront  to  common  sense,  as  it  is  to 
every  sober  ecclesiastical  principle.     No  man  ought 


LETTER  IT.  27 

to  be  willing  to  bear  the  distinctive  name  of  any  par- 
ticular branch  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  without  being 
resolved,  while  he  extends  his  patronage  and  his 
prayers  far  beyond  it,  to  make  that  branch  the  object 
of  his  first  ecclesiastical  care. 

But,  notwithstanding  my  warm  adherence  to  this 
doctrine,  it  by  no  means  closes  my  heart  against  the 
"  American  Home  Missionary  Society.'*  Much  as  I 
love  the  Assembly's  ''Board  of  Missions,"  it  does 
not  by  any  means  appear  to  me  to  supersede  the 
value,  and  even  the  necessity  of  the  great  national  in- 
stitution just  named.  There  is  ample  room  for  both. 
There  is  abundant  need  of  both.  I  consider  the  Home 
Missionary  Society  as  holding  a  most  important  place 
in  the  great  operations  of  the  present  day,  for  the 
conversion  of  the  world.  It  is,  therefore,  my  earnest 
wish,  not  only  that  it  may  live,  but  that  it  may  grow 
and  prosper;  that  it  may  "  lengthen  its  cords,  and 
strengthen  its  stakes,"  and  become  more  and  more  a 
blessing  to  our  land.  I  would  say,  indeed,  to  all 
Presbyterians — "  First,  take  care  of  the  *  Board  of 
Missions'  of  your  oAvn  Church.  See  that  that  board 
is  well  supported,  ably  conducted,  and  every  thing 
done  consistent  with  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  to  pro- 
mote its  vigorous  operation  in  its  appropriate  sphere. 
This,  your  relation  to  the  Presbyterian  Church;  your 
virtual  if  not  formal  vows  and  engagements;  and 
your  Christian  honour  all  demand  of  you.  If  you  do 
not  deliberately  prefer  the  Presbyterian  Church  to 
all  others,  why  did  you  solemnly  connect  yourselves 
with  it.^  And  if  you  do  so  prefer  it,  how  can  you  re- 
concile it  with  fidelity  to  your  engagements — nay, 
with  the  obligations  of  common  honesty,  to  turn  your 
backs  upon  those  boards  upon  which  the  extension 


28  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

and  prosperity  of  the  Church  may  bt  said,  under 
God,  to  depend;  and  to  give  the  main  strength  of 
your  aid  and  counsel  to  bodies  out  of  her  pale? 
Christians  ought  not  only  to  do  as  they  would  be 
done  by,  but  they  ought  also  to  act,  in  all  cases,  upon 
principles  which  they  would  be  willing  should  be 
made  the  principles  of  universal  action.  Suppose, 
then,  all  Presbyterians  should  neglect  all  the  boards 
and  institutions  of  their  own  Church,  and  give  their 
exclusive  patronage  to  other  bodies;  would  not  the 
Presbyterian  Church  soon  languish  and  die?  Can 
you  as  Presbyterians,  then,  be  considered  as  acting  a 
consistent  or  commendable  part,  if  you  abandon  the 
appropriate  institutions  of  your  own  Church,  and 
prefer  those  which,  though  devoted  to  the  general 
interests  of  religion,  have  not  in  view  the  enlargement 
of  that  portion  of  Christ's  family  which  you  profess 
to  believe  is  purer,  more  scriptural,  and  better  adapt- 
ed to  promote  the  real  prosperity  of  the  Redeemer's 
kingdom  than  any  other?" 

But  my  exhortation  would  not  end  here.  I  would 
go  on  to  say — ^"Having  taken  due  care  of  your  own 
Board  of  Missions,  give  efficient  aid,  as  far  as  possi- 
ble, to  the  Home  Missionary  Society.  It  is  engaged 
in  the  same  great  and  general  cause  with  the  Board 
of  your  own  Church.  Therefore,  as  far  as  your  cir- 
cumstances will  allow,  contribute  to  them  both;  pray 
for  both;  and  endeavour  to  promote  the  strength  and 
usefulness  of  both.  It  is  the  duty  of  every  Christian, 
while  he  feels  specially  charged  with  the  interests  of 
that  portion  of  the  visible  church  with  which  he  has 
joined  himself,  and  specially  bound  to  sustain  and 
promote  them; — to  pray,  and  give,  and  labour  for  the 
prosperity  of  the  whole  body  of  Christ.     This  is  the 


LETTER  II.  ^9 

Spirit  of  the  Gospel;  and  the  more  perfectly  this  spi- 
rit is  cherished,  and  carried  into  practice,  the  more 
individual  edification,  and  the  general  enlargement  of 
the  Church  will  be  secured." 

Some,  indeed,  have  felt  apprehensive  that  volun- 
tary associations  may  become  animated  by  such  a 
spirit  of  inordinate  ambition;  may  so  encroach,  and 
grasp,  and  invade,  as  finally  either  to  break  down  ec- 
clesiastical boards,  or  so  to  interfere  with  their  move- 
ments, as  greatly  to  embarrass  and  enfeeble  them. 
Of  such  attempts,  and  of  such  a  result,  it  is  believed 
there  is  much  less  danger  720iv,  than  there  was  seve- 
ral years  ago.  The  friends  of  ecclesiastical  order 
and  peace,  in  our  church,  even  many  of  those  who 
are  most  warmly  attached  to  voluntary  associations, 
are  beginning  to  see  that  forced  amalgamations,  or 
forced  connexions  of  any  kind,  are  worse  than  use- 
less. They  are  beginning  to  see  that  a  greater  num- 
ber of  minds  v/ill  be  likely  to  be  enlisted  and  accom- 
modated by  having  more  than  one  board  devoted  to  a 
given  branch  of  Christian  effort.  They  are  begin- 
ning to  perceive  that  a  much  greater  amount  of  good 
will  probably  be  done  by  the  separate  action  of  rival 
bodies,  than  by  the  agency  of  one  alone.  And  they 
are  gradually  receiving  the  impression  that  volun- 
tary associations  can  scarcely  take  a  course  more 
adapted  to  weaken  and  discredit  their  own  power, 
than  to  interfere,  directly  or  indirectly,  with  the  inte- 
rests or  arrangements  of  particular  churches.  Cer- 
tain it  is,  that  if  voluntary  associations  were  bent  on 
their  own  ruin,  they  could  not  more  speedily  accom- 
plish it  than  by  taking  this  course.  It  is  my  belief, 
then,  that,  in  the  present  state  of  the  public  mind, 
any  serious  apprehensions  of  danger  from  the  en- 
c  2 


30  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

croachments  of  such  associations  may  be  safely  dis- 
missed. 

But  even  supposing  the  danger  to  organized 
churches,  from  the  ambitious  interference  of  volun- 
tary associations,  to  be  ever  so  real  and  formidable, 
what  is  the  best  method  of  meeting  that  danger?  Is 
it  totally  to  decry  such  associations;  to  declare  war 
against  them;  and  to  endeavour  to  turn  away  from 
them  all  public  support  and  patronage?  Would  not 
this  be  attempting  to  put  down  an  agency,  which, 
though  susceptible  of  perversion  and  abuse,  is  yet 
eminently  powerful  and  capable,  when  wisely  direct- 
ed, of  producing  benefits  to  the  Church  and  the 
world,  of  incalculable  value?  Would  not  this  also 
be  taking  a  course  peculiarly  adapted  to  exasperate 
party  feeling;  to  divide  the  Church;  and  by  pro- 
tracted strife,  to  diminish  the  strength  and  the  use- 
fulness of  both  parties  in  the  dispute?  Such  is  my 
view  of  the  subject.  If,  therefore,  my  apprehensions 
of  the  designs  and  the  influence  of  voluntary  associa- 
tions were  much  more  unfavourable  than  they  have 
ever  been,  I  should  think  it  better,  by  far,  to  obviate 
the  danger  by  treating  them  with  respect  and  kind- 
ness, and  by  entering  into  a  generous  Christian  com- 
petition with  them  in  the  career  of  usefulness,  rather 
than,  by  hostility,  by  denunciation,  by  exciting  party 
prejudices  and  passions,  which,  even  if  they  should 
be  effectual  in  putting  down  the  object  opposed,  can- 
not fail  to  fill  the  church  with  conflicts  altogether  un- 
congenial with  the  hallowed  work  of  extending  the 
Redeemer's  kingdom. 

When,  therefore,  I  contemplate  the  state  of  feeling 
in  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  regard  to  the  "  Board 
of  Missions,"  and  the  "  Home  Missionary  Society/* 


LETTER  II.  31 

I  cannot  help  rejoicing  that  they  both  exist,  and 
hoping  that  they  may  both  long  continue  to  flourish. 
Some  in  our  communion  prefer  one  of  those  institu- 
tions, and  some  the  other.  On  which  side  the  majo- 
rity lies,  I  shall  not  undertake  to  decide.  Suffice  it 
to  say,  that  there  is  a  large  amount  of  piety,  wealth, 
and  public  spirit,  on  each  side.  Many  who  are  able 
to  contribute  largely  to  the  cause  of  missions,  will 
not  give  to  the  Home  Missionary  Society,  because  its 
constitution  and  responsibility  are  not  ecclesiastical. 
While,  perhaps,  quite  as  large  a  number,  ardently 
zealous  for  extending  the  Redeemer's  kingdom,  will 
not  give  to  the  General  Assembly's  Board,  because 
its  constitution  and  responsibility  are  ecclesiastical. 
I  do  indeed  marvel,  not  that  Presbyterians  should  be 
found  who  are  unwilling  to  give  to  other  boards  than 
their  own,  but  that  their  own  should  be  precisely  those 
which  they  are  not  willing  to  patronize.  It  is  only, 
however,  with  facts,  that  I  have  at  present  to  do. 
The  question  is  not,  then,  at  present,  which  of  these 
classes  is  right,  or  which  is  most  worthy  of  encou- 
ragement:— but  the  question  is,  seeing  they  exist ,  and 
are  likely  to  exist,  how  their  diversity  of  views  may 
be  disposed  of  in  the  best  spirit,  and  with  the  best 
results?  Is  it  not  plainly  desirable  that  both  parties 
should  be  gratified?  That  each  should  have  a  trea- 
sury into  which  its  contributions  may  be  profitably 
cast?  Is  it  not  evident  that,  in  this  way,  more  har- 
mony and  Christian  feeling  will  be  likely  to  be  se- 
cured; a  larger  amount  of  funds  collected;  more 
missionaries  employed;  and  a  far  greater  sum  of 
good  accomplished,  than  by  either  board  if  it  existed 
alone? 

Can  there  be  a  single  friend  of  either  Board  so 


32  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

narrow  minded,  so  swayed  by  party  feelings  or  so  ex- 
clusively devoted  by  party  schemes,  as  to  be  capable 
of  saying — "Let  our  board  flourish  or  none.  Let  the 
contributions  of  those  who  are  not  willing  to  give  to 
our  body,  be  withheld  altogether  from  the  cause  of 
Missions?"  I  cannot  admit  the  degrading  supposi- 
tion. If  there  he  any  who  are  willing  to  utter  lan- 
guage, or  even  to  cherish  a  feeling  of  this  kind,  they 
will  do  well  to  examine  anew  whether  they  are  actu- 
ated by  the  spirit  of  Christ,  Rather  may  we  not  hope 
that  the  great  mass  of  the  most  zealous  friends  of 
each  Board,  respectively,  v/ill  be  ready  to  say — "Let 
the  cause  of  missions  prosper,  and  be  extended,  by 
whomsoever  carried  on.  Let  those  who  will  not  give 
to  ws,  pour  their  liberal  contributions  into  some  other 
treasury?"  Such,  I  trust,  is  the  spontaneous  decision 
of  thousands  who  deserve  to  be  called  warm  partisans 
in  this  controversy.  And  I  am  equally  confident 
that  the  number  is  by  no  means  small  of  those  who, 
disregarding  party  feelings,  and  intent  on  promoting, 
as  far  as  possible,  what  ought  to  be  the  great  object 
of  every  Christian,  are  ready  to  contribute  to  both 
boards,  and  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  promote  the 
efficiency  of  both.  Let  this  spirit  prevail,  and  the 
missionary  cause  will  cease  to  be  a  bone  of  contention 
among  us.  Let  this  spirit  prevail,  and  the  friends  of 
each  party  may  adopt  with  confidence  the  reply  of 
Him  who  "spake  as  never  man  spake,"  who  when 
one  of  his  disciples  said,  "Master,  we  saw  one  casting 
out  devils  in  thy  name,  and  we  forbade  him,  because 
he  followeth  not  with  us,"  answered  and  said  unto 
him,  "Forbid  him  not:  for  he  that  is  not.  against  us 
is  for  us." 


LETTER  II.  33 

Other  remarks  on  this  important  subject,  will  be 
reserved  for  a  future  letter.  In  the  mean  time  let 
our  prayers  ascend  that  the  God  of  love  and  of  peace 
may  be  with  us! 

Princeton,  Jan.  Idth,  1833, 


S4  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 


LETTER  III. 

Voluntary  Associations,  and  Ecclesiastical  Boards. 

Christian  Brethren, 

Let  me  request  your  attention  to  some  further  re- 
marks on  the  subject  which  stands  at  the  head  of  this 
letter. 

There  are  several  considerations  which  demand 
our  special  notice  in  reference  to  the  Assembly's 
"  Board  of  Missions,"  which,  it  is  probable,  have 
been  sometimes  overlooked  or  forgotten  in  the  esti- 
mates which  have  been  formed  of  its  position  and 
proceedings. 

Tht  first  consideration  referred  to  is,  that  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  the  United  States  has  been  for  a 
long  time  engaged  in  the  missionary  department  of 
evangelical  labour.  It  is  now  nearly  seventy  years^ 
since  our  branch  of  the  American  Church  began,  in 
her  ecclesiastical  capacity,  and  by  means  of  her  su- 
preme judicatory,  to  take  systematic  measures  for 
sending  the  Gospel  to  the  destitute  regions  of  our  ex- 
tended country.  This  was  done  by  the  old  Synod  of 
New  York  and  Philadelphia,  in  a  few  years  after  its 
formation,  in  1758.  Not  long  after  the  establishment 
of  our  national  independence,  in  1783,  the  General 
Assembly,  upon  its  present  plan,  was  organized  as 
our  highest  ecclesiastical  judicatory.  At  the  very 
first  meeting  of  that  body,  in  the  year  1789,  particu- 
lar attention  was  directed  to  the  missionary  cause. 
A  system  of  effort  was  formed;  and  an  injunction  is- 
sued to  all  the  Presbyteries  to  raise  adequate  funds 


LETTER  III.  35 

for  carrying  it  into  execution  with  zeal  and  vigour. 
In  pursuance  of  this  plan  much  was  effected  in  the 
following  ten  or  eleven  years.  In  the  year  1801,  the 
General  Assembly,  regarding  this  whole  subject  as 
one  of  primary  importance,  appointed  agents  to  solicit 
permanent  funds  for  sustaining  the  missionary  enter- 
prise under  its  direction.  This  appointment  was 
crowned  with  success.  Very  considerable  funds  were 
obtained^  and  the  Assembly  gave  a  solemn  pledge  to 
the  chia'cheSjUOt  only  in  soliciting  these  contributions, 
but  after  they  were  obtained,  that  the  principal  su7n 
would  be  kept  forever  sacredly  unbroken^  and  the  inte- 
rest applied^  under  the  direction  of  the  General  ^Issem- 
bly,  to  the  great  object  of  sending  the  Gospel  to  the 
frontier  and  other  destitute  settlements.  It  is  by  the 
annual  avails  of  this  fund,  added  to  current  contribu- 
tions, that  the  Board  of  Missions  has  been  enabled 
to  carry  on  its  pious  enterprise  from  that  time  to  the 
present. 

It  is  plain,  then,  that  the  Board  of  Missions  of  the 
General  Assembly,  is  7iot  a  mere  upstart  body;  that 
the  system  which  it  is  pursuing  was  begun  by  the 
highest  judicatory  of  our  Church,  more  than  half  a 
century  before  the  Home  Missionary  Society  had  an 
existence;  that  more  than  thirty  years  ago,  the  busi- 
ness of  conducting  missions  under  its  direction  was 
committed  to  a  standing  Committee  or  Board  of 
Missions;  and  that  hundreds  of  Churches  have  been 
formed  by  its  instrumentality.  And  although  it  be 
true  that,  for  many  years,  our  supreme  judicatory 
did  not  conduct  its  missionary  business  with  the 
zeal  and  vigour  which  were  desirable  and  which  the 
nature  of  the  service  ought  to  have  inspired;  yet  a 
great  amount  of  good  was  done  by  her  efforts,  and 


26  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

many  parts  of  the  wilderness  made  to  "  rejoice  and 
blossom  as  the  rose."  Can  it  be  thought  surprising 
that,  with  all  these  circumstances  in  view,  a  majority 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  should  feel  unwilling  to 
give  up  that  missionary  system  in  which,  as  a  Church, 
she  has  been  so  long  engaged^  or,  at  least,  to  do  what 
would  have  amounted  to  merging  it  in  a  new  body, 
which  had  no  immediate  ecclesiastical  connexion  or 
responsibility?  But  this  is  not  all.  The  General 
Assembly  could  not  possibly  consent  to  such  mea- 
sure without  a  breach  of  faith  not  to  be  for  a  moment 
thought  of.  The  solicited  contributions  from  the 
churches  under  her  care,  more  than  thirty  years  ago, 
were  made,  as  before  stated,  under  the  solemn  stipu- 
lation that  she  would  preserve  untouched  the  princi- 
pal, and  annually  expend  the  interest  forever  in  sus- 
taining missions.  Is  it  wonderful,  then,  that,  holding 
funds  obtained  under  so  sacred  a  pledge,  she  should 
feel  unwilling  to  accede  to  any  proposal  which  would 
amount,  either  formally  or  virtually,  to  her  giving 
the  disposal  of  these  funds  in  any  measure  out  of  her 
own  hands;  or  subjecting  them,  in  whole  or  in  part, 
to  the  vote  of  another  body?  The  writer  of  these 
pages  acknov/ledges  that  when  the  proposal  was  first 
made  several  years  ago,  to  adopt  a  plan  which  would 
have  amalgamated  the  Assembly's  Board  of  Missions 
with  the  Home  Missionary  Society,  so  strong  was  his 
desire  for  accommodation  and  peace,  that  he  looked 
upon  the  plan  with  a  favourable  eye,  and  felt  disposed 
to  vote  for  its  acceptance.  He  is  now,  however,  per- 
suaded that  his  then  favourable  impressions  were  er- 
roneous; that  to  have  adopted  the  proposed  amalga- 
mation would  have  been  in  every  view  unwise;  but  that, 
above  all,  it  would  have  amounted  to  the  abandon- 


LETTER  III.  37 

ment  into  other  hands  of  a  sacred  trusty  which  was 
assumed  in  the  most  solemn  manner,  and  which  now, 
after  more  than  thirty  years,  when  most  of  the  donors 
who  contributed  on  the  faith  of  the  pledge  then  given 
are  beyond  the  possibility  of  being  consulted,  can 
never  be  cancelled.  The  General  Assembly,  as  I  ap- 
prehend, can  never  cease,  without  a  breach  offaith^  to 
carry  on  missionary  operations  with  those  funds;  and 
cannot,  without  a  manifest  violation  of  her  engage- 
ment, transfer  the  annual  expenditure  of  their  avails 
to  other  hands  than  her  own,  however  pious  and 
faithful  those  hands  may  be.  ^ 

Seeing,  then,  that  the  General  Assembly  is  com- 
pelled, by  her  own  solemn  engagement  to  the  Church, 
made  many  years  since,  perpetually  to  carry  on  do- 
mestic missions,  in  her  ecclesiastical  capacity;  is  it 
desirable  that  she  should  perform  this  duty  in  a  feeble 
and  languid  manner;  that  she  should  expend  in  this 
work  nothing  more  than  the  interest  of  her  old  funds, 
derived  chiefly  from  deceased  members,  without  call- 
ing upon  her  present  members  for  either  effort  or  sa- 
crifice in  this  most  blessed  service.^  This  will  hardly 
be  admitted.  If  it  be  proper  for  her  to  act  at  all  in 
this  business,  it  is  surely  proper  for  her  to  act  with 
zeal  and  efficiency,  as  a  body  feeling  her  obligations, 
and  in  good  earnest  desirous  of  discharging  them. 
Instead,  therefore,  of  imputing  blame  to  the  Board  of 
Missions,  that,  when  a  few  years  ago,  the  Home  Mis- 
sionary Society  was  founded,  it  roused  from  a  state 
of  comparative  inefficiency,  and  began  a  system  of 
operations  more  spirited  and  extensive;  it  is  rather 
worthy  of  censure  for  its  former  languor,  and  of  high 
commendation  for  its  subsequent  increase  in  zeal 
and  diligence.     And  if  it  were  "provoked  to  good 


S8  LETTERS  TO   PRESBYTERIANS. 

works,"  as  well  as  to  "  love,"  by  a  generous  Christian 
rivalship  with  a  sister  institution,  I  know  not  that 
there  is  any  thing,  in  such  competition,  inconsistent 
cither  with  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  or  the  edification 
of  Christian  intercourse.  Sure  I  am,  there  will  not 
be  one  dollar  less  contributed  to  the  Home  Missionary 
Society,  on  account  of  the  renovated  zeal  of  the  Board 
of  Missions,  and  her  efforts  to  rouse  a  missionary 
spirit  in  the  community,  and  to  draw  larger  contri- 
butions than  ever  before  to  her  treasury.  On  the 
contrary,  while  large  sums  are  placed  at  the  disposal 
bf  that  Board,  which  would  never,  but  for  her  exist- 
ence and  efforts,  have  been  given  to  any  Missionary 
Board;  we  have  abundant  reason  to  believe  that  a 
zeal  has  been  diffused  through  the  country  which 
would  not  otherwise  have  been  excited;  that  an  emu- 
lation of  the  most  active  and  fruitful  character  has 
been  awakened;  that  many  thousands  of  dollars  have 
flowed  into  the  treasury  of  the  Home  Missionary  So- 
ciety, which  would  never  otherwise  have  reached  it; 
and  thus  a  much  larger  amount  of  funds  collected; 
many  more  missionaries  employed;  and  a  far  great- 
er aggregate  of  good  accomplished,  than  we  have 
reason  to  suppose  could  possibly  have  been  attained 
by  any  one  of  the  boards,  if  it  had  existed  alone. 
He  who  does  not  see  that  the  Assembly's  Board  of 
Missions  has  been  probably  stimulated,  to  do  more 
than  double  what  it  would  otherwise  have  done,  in 
consequence  of  the  existence  and  efforts  of  the  Home 
Missionary  Society;  and  on  the  other  hand,  that  the 
Home  Missionary  Society  has  been  excited  and  ena- 
bled to  do  far  more  than  it  could  have  accomplished, 
if  the  Assembly's  Board  had  not  been  revived,  must 
be  blind  indeed  I 


LETTER    III.  39 

If  there  be  any  friends,  then,  of  the  Assembly's 
Board  of  Missions,  on  the  one  hand,  who  feel  dis- 
posed to  ^vish  that  the  Home  Missionary  Society 
had  never  come  into  existence,  or,  having  existed, 
might  now  be  disbanded;  or  if  there  be  any  of  the 
patrons  of  the  Home  Missionary  Society,  who  in- 
dulge a  similar  wish  concerning  the  Assembly's 
Board;  I  would  say,  they  know  not  what  they  de- 
sire. Their  views  are,  in  my  opinion,  erroneous. 
They  partake,  I  fear,  more  of  the  spirit  of  partisans, 
than  of  enlightened  and  devoted  labourers,  for  the 
spread  of  the  gospel.  If  such  persons  could  pene- 
trate, for  a  moment,  through  the  mists  of  prejudice, 
they  would  see  that  they  had  been  governed  by  feel- 
ing, rather  than  by  Christian  principle:  and  would  be 
ready  to  say — "  Let  both  prosper!  Let  both  be  sus- 
tained! There  is  an  appropriate  field  for  both;  and 
the  work  of  the  Lord  in  our  land  cannot  be  so  well  ac- 
complished as  by  the  separate,  yet  concurring,  la- 
bours of  both  in  their  respective  spheres." 

If  my  earnest  wishes,  then,  could  be  carried  into 
effect,  we  should  hear  no  more  of  collision  between 
the  Board  of  Missions  and  the  Home  Missionary  So- 
ciety. They  would  be  considered  as  sister  institu- 
tions; entirely  separate;  sustained  by  the  voluntary 
contributions  of  those  who  preferred  each  respec- 
tively; neither  forcing  itself  on  the  patronage  or  coun- 
tenance of  any  one;  each  inoffensively  occupying  its 
own  appropriate  field;  each  carefully  avoiding  all  in- 
terference with  the  other;  and  each  making  it  the  ob- 
ject of  supreme  desire,  not  to  outshine  or  overcome 
the  other;  but  to  accomplish  the  greatest  amount  of 
effort  toward  the  conversion  of  the  world.  Let  this 
be  done.     Let  the  conductors  and   agents  of  each 


40  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

Board,  wherever  they  go,  be  careful  to  ascertain,  in 
the  most  quiet  and  inoffensive  manner  possible,  who 
those  ministers  and  congregations  are  who  are  dis- 
posed to  look  with  a  more  favourable  eye  on  their 
rivals,  and  respectfully  pass  them  by;  applying  for 
aid  only  to  those  who  are  known  to  be  favourable  to 
themselves.  Let  each  Board,  in  all  its  proceedings, 
carefully  abstain  from  all  complaints  against  the 
other;  never  hinting  at  any  comparisons  between  their 
own  plans,  missionaries,  or  movements,  and  those  of 
the  other;  and  never  even  alluding  to  each  other,  in 
public  or  private,  unless  it  be  to  express  love  and  be- 
nediction. Let  one  thing  more  be  done: — ^let  not 
only  the  Boards  themselves,  but  all  the  friends  and 
advocates  of  each,  in  every  part  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  with  one  consent,  resolve  to  adopt  a  course 
of  perfect  conciliation,  and  inoffensiveness,  and  to 
guard  against  every  thing  adapted  to  excite  jealousy, 
or  to  give  pain  on  either  side.  Let  all  this  be  sin- 
cerely and  faithfully  done,  and  the  two  Boards  may 
proceed  to  the  most  vigorous  discharge  of  their  re- 
spective duties  without  interference,  and  without  con- 
troversy. Let  this  plan  of  procedure  be  conscienti- 
ously acted  upon  on  all  sides,  and  the  precious  cause 
of  missions,  which  is  by  far  the  most  important  cause 
now  agitated  among  men,  may  be  pursued  with  all 
the  zeal  and  diligence  corresponding  with  its  unspeak- 
able interest,  and  yet  with  movements  of  such  a  cha- 
racter as  shall  not  produce  a  single  jar  in  the  Presby- 
terian Church.  Why  cannot  this  be  done?  It  is, 
undoubtedly,  for  the  comfort  of  both  sides  to  take 
this  course.  Nor  can  either  side,  I  am  persuaded, 
take  a  different  course,  without  impairing,  in  a  cor- 
responding degree,  its  own  strength  and  eventual  sue- 
cess  with  the  religious  public. 


LETTER  III.  4  I 

But  there  is  one  department  of  the  Voluntary  As- 
sociation system,  to  which  it  is  my  desire  to  direct 
particular  and  most  serious  attention.  I  refer  to  that 
which  respects  the  selecting  and  training  of  the  sons 
of  the  Church  for  the  holy  Ministry.  It  is  well  known 
that,  in  some  parts  of  our  Church,  strong  feelings 
have  been  excited,  and  painful  conflicts  generated,  by 
the  question,  whether  the  "  American  Education  So- 
ciety," or  the  "  General  Assembly's  Board  of  Educa- 
tion" should  be  patronized  by  Presbyterian  Churches 
and  ministers?  In  reference  to  this  question,  what- 
ever suspicion  of  the  contrary  may  be  excited  by  the 
subsequent  remarks,  I  am  conscious  of  possessing  a 
spirit  of  entire  kindness  and  impartiality.  I  sincere- 
ly rejoice  that  there  is  such  a  body  in  existence,  and  in 
successful  operation,  as  the  American  Education  So- 
ciety. It  is  surely  one  of  the  noblest  forms  of  Chris- 
tian benevolence,  to  provide  for  taking  by  the  hand 
pious  and  ingenuous  youth,  of  all  evangelical  deno- 
minationsj  furnishing  the  means  of  aiding  them  in 
their  poverty;  and  sustaining,  guiding  and  stimulat- 
ing them  in  every  stage  of  their  preparation  for  the 
sacred  office.  Every  well  wisher  to  the  moral  and 
intellectual  culture,  as  well  as  to  the  Christian  cha- 
racter of  his  country,  ought  to  be  thankful  for  the 
existence  of  such  a  body;  to  pray  for  its  prosperity; 
and,  as  far  as  he  can  possibly  afford,  to  help  it  on  by 
his  contributions.  It  is  plain  that  the  plans  and  ef- 
forts adopted  by  each  particular  Christian  denomina^ 
tion,  as  such,  to  select  and  train  its  own  candidates 
for  the  holy  ministry,  cannot  supersede  the  necessity 
for  such  a  general  society,  stretching  over  the  whole 
country,  and  intended  to  receive  the  contributions,  and 
to  aid  pious  and  promising  youth  of  any  and  every  de- 
D  2 


42  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

nomination,  and  especially  those  who,  on  account  of 
their  ecclesiastical  connexion,  may  not  be  admissible 
to  the  aid  of  any  of  the  other  existing  denominational 
societies.  There  are  many  wealthy  individuals  who 
have  so  little  attachment  to  any  particular  Christian 
sect,  that  they  are  very  indifferent  how  the  donations 
which  they  devote  to  the  education  cause  are  appli- 
ed, provided  pious  and  promising  youth  of  any  deno- 
mination are  really  aided  by  their  means.  There  are 
many  Churches,  too,  whose  views  of  doctrinal  truth, 
and  ecclesiastical  order,  are  such  that  they  feel  cor- 
dially willing  that  the  American  Education  Society, 
though  neither  attached  nor  pledged  to  any  particu- 
lar denomination,  should  have  the  task  of  sustaining, 
and,  to  a  certain  extent,  guiding,  all  their  candidates 
for  the  sacred  office.  And  to  all  these  may  be  added 
a  large  body  of  professing  Christians,  some  of  them 
in  the  Presbyterian  Church;  and  as  many,  or  more, 
:  out  of  it,  who  deliberately  prefer  what  they  call  the 
I  "liberal"  and  "anti-sectarian"  character  of  the  Ame- 
rican Education  Society,  to  that  of  any  Board  con- 
fined to  a  particular  denomination.  To  suit  so  im- 
portant a  portion  of  the  religious  public,  it  is  plain 
that  some  such  institution  is  desirable,  and  indeed  in- 
dispensable. Were  it  not  in  existence,  and  conduct- 
ed with  that  wisdom  and  efficiency  which  have  so  re- 
markably characterized  its  general  management,  who 
does  not  see  that  the  education  cause  would  never 
have  reached  that  wonderful  extent  and  vigour  which, 
by  the  divine  blessing,  have  been  imparted  to  it  within 
the  last  five  years.^  I  scruple  not  to  say,  that  the 
society  in  question  has  been,  and  is  likely  in  a  still 
higher  degree,  to  be  a  rich  blessing  to  our  country. 
I,  therefore,  contemplated  its  rise  and  progress  with 


LETTER    III.  43 

great  pleasure.  I  look  an  early  opportunity  of  mak- 
ing myself  a  life-member,  by  subscription^  after  pre- 
viously becoming  entitled  to  that  privilege  by  elec- 
tion. Charged,  t  )o,  with  the  duties  of  a  member  of 
one  of  the  "  Examining  Committees"  of  the  Society, 
I  have  cheerfully  served  it  in  this  capacity  for  a  num- 
ber of  years.  And  were  it  in  my  power,  I  would 
urge  every  friend  of  religion,  and  of  his  country,  in 
the  United  States,  who  could  do  it,  consistently  with 
his  other  obligations,  to  become  its  liberal  and  con- 
stant patron. 

But  high  as  the  foregoing  statements  will  show  my 
estimate  to  be  of  the  importance  of  the  American 
Education  Society,  and  cordial  as  my  friendship  is  to 
all  its  interests;  I  can  by  no  means  persuade  myself 
that  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States 
ought  to  be  so  far  satisfied  with  it  as  to  desire  no  other 
for  selecting  and  training  her  youthful  candidates  for 
the  ministry.  That  institution  is  an  invaluable  one, 
and  has  a  very  important  part  to  act  at  the  present 
day,  in  preparing  living  teachers  for  the  conversion  of 
the  Avorld,  But  can  it  be  for  a  moment  imagined 
that  an  extended  denomination  of  Christians  ought 
to  be  content  to  have  this  society,  which,  as  I  said,  is 
neither  attached  nor  pledged  to  any  particular  Chris- 
tian Church,  entrusted  with  the  management  of  all 
her  sons  intended  for  the  holy  office.^  As  well  might 
the  father  of  a  family,  under  the  plea  of  great  libe- 
rality, yield  the  entire  education  of  his  children, 
while  he  was  yet  living,  and  able  to  take  care  of 
them,  into  the  hands  of  strangers,  to  choose  their 
preceptors;  to  prescribe  their  objects  and  course  of 
study;  and  to  mark  out  for  them  their  path  in  life. 
It  is  true,  strangers  might  be  in  many  cases  as  en- 


44  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

lightened,  wise  and  faithful  as  the  parent  himself; 
nay  they  might,  in  some  cases,  be  far  more  capable 
than  he  of  making  a  wise  choice  of  teachers  and 
studies  for  his  children;  yet  in  ordinary  cases,  what 
wise  and  conscientious  parent  would  be  willing  to 
give  this  all-important  task  out  of  his  own  hands? 
If  he  have  the  spirit  of  a  good  citizen,  and  above  all, 
of  a  sincere  Christian,  he  will  be  willing  to  help  for- 
ward all  judicious  plans  for  promoting  general  edu- 
cation— will  take  pleasure  in  planning  and  aiding,  to 
the  extent  of  his  power,  to  bring  the  means  of  know- 
ledge within  the  reach  of  the  poor  and  destitute. 
But,  having  done  this,  he  will  feel  himself  bound  by 
all  the  ties  of  natural  affection,  to  take  the  training  of 
his  own  children  under  his  peculiar  and  immediate 
care.  He  will  think  it  his  duiy  to  see  that  every  part 
of  their  education  be  adapted  to  bear  in  a  favourable 
manner  on  the  sphere  and  pursuit  in  life  in  which  he 
expects  them  to  act;  assured  that,  how  much  soever 
others  may  excel  him  in  respect  to  skill  in  teaching; 
none  can  take  so  deep  and  tender  an  interest  as  him- 
self in  all  that  bears  on  their  success  in  life,  and  their 
real  happiness. 

Upon  this  principle,  I  profess  to  be  not  only  a 
sincere,  but  a  warm  friend  to  those  noble  confede- 
racies of  diff"erent  denominations,  in  the  great  work 
of  doing  good,  which  are  at  once  the  ornament  and 
the  glory  of  the  present  age.  It  is  perfectly  proper, 
and  immensely  important,  that  all  denominations  of 
Christians  should  unite  in  sending  t\\t  Bible  through 
the  world.  It  is  no  less  proper  and  desirable  that  all 
professing  Christians  who  substantially  agree  in  the 
leading  piinciples  of  evangelical  truth  should  com- 
bine in  sending  religious  Tracts  to  every  portion  of 


LETTER  III.  45 

the  human  family.  In  like  manner,  different  parts  of 
the  professing  body  of  Christ  may,  with  great  ad- 
vantage, unite  in  the  prosecution  o^ missionary  labour. 
But  can  the  church,  that  is,  the  assembled  rulers  of  a 
particular  denomination,  with  propriety  delegate  to 
individuals,  or  to  bodies  out  of  her  communion,  the 
delicate  and  all  important  task  of  selecting,  counsel- 
ling and  training  her  youthful  candidates  for  the  mi- 
nistry? Can  she  safely  commit  to  a  body  not  within 
her  bosom,  and  not  responsible  to  her  authority,  that 
most  vital  and  solemn  of  all  trusts,  the  trust  of  pre- 
paring for  her  service  those  who  are  to  be  her  lead- 
ers and  rulers  in  spiritual  things?  Who  are  to 
"feed  her  with  knowledge  and  with  understanding;'* 
to  preside  over  all  the  interests  of  doctrine  and  disci- 
pline within  her  pale;  and  to  become  her  counsellors 
and  guides  in  conducting  her  faithful  testimony  in 
favour  of  that  purity  of  gospel  truth,  worship  and 
order  which  the  Church  was  instituted  to  maintain? 
It  were  just  as  rational,  in  my  view,  and  just  as  safe 
to  maintain,  that  each  Presbytery  might  commit  to 
some  voluntary  association  in  her  neighbourhood  the 
task  of  examining  and  licensing  her  candidates  for 
the  ministry: — just  as  wise  in  the  General  Assembly 
of  our  Church  to  refer  the  most  delicate  and  difficult 
judicial  questions  which  might  come  before  her  to  a 
body  of  wise  and  pious  arbitrators,  many  of  them  not 
in  her  communion,  and  a  majority,  perhaps,  having 
no  attachment  to  her  constitution.  True,  in  many 
cases,  such  a  body  of  arbitrators  might  decide  as 
wisely  as  the  Assembly  itself,  and,  perhaps,  in  some 
cases,  might  possibly  come  to  a  result  even  more  dis- 
passionate and  impartial  than  that  judicatory  would 
be  likely  to   reach.     But   that  is  not  the  question. 


46  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

Would  such  a  course,  on  principle,  be  either  wise  or 
safe?  We  need  not  wait  for  an  answer.  Every  one 
sees  that  it  would  be  an  infatuated  course,  altogether 
erroneous  in  principle;  and  inevitably  leading  in  the 
end  to  mischiefs  of  the  most  destructive  kind. 

These  things  being  so,  let  none  say,  that  the 
"  Board  of  Education"  of  the  General  Assembly  is 
a  "  party"  concern;  or  that  it  is  adapted  to  subserve 
"old  school"  views.  It  is  not  possible,  I  will  ven- 
ture to  say,  for  human  impartiality  to  construct  a  sys- 
tem more  entirely  free  from  all  just  exposure  to  such 
a  charge.  The  supervision  of  the  candidates  sus- 
tained by  the  Board,  and  all  the  influence  connected 
with  that  supervision,  are  not  engrossed  by  any  one 
central  body.  To  every  Presbytery  is  yielded  the 
power  of  directing  the  studies  of  its  own  candidates. 
Can  any  thing  be  desired  more  free  from  party  nar- 
rowness than  this?  And  to  crown  all,  every  auxiliary 
to  the  Board,  whether  Presbytery  or  Synod,  agreeing 
to  pass  all  its  moneys  through  the  hands  of  the 
Board,  "  shall  be  entitled  to  claim  aid  for  all  the 
youth  regularly  received  under  its  care,  however 
much  the  appropriations  necessary  for  their  support 
may  exceed  the  contributions  of  said  auxiliary."  Can 
any  thing  be  more  liberal  than  this? 

Such,  then,  is  the  basis  of  that  general  pacification 
in  the  Presbyterian  Church  for  which  I  plead.  Only 
let  the  great  mass  of  our  ministers  and  church  mem- 
bers cordially  adopt  the  principles  which  have  been 
sketched,  and  act  upon  them,  and  the  work  is  done. 
Peace  and  harmony  may  be  restored  to  our  agitated, 
bleeding  Zion.  But  just  so  far  as  these  principles 
are  rejected  and  departed  from,  hard  feelings,  dis- 
cord and  alienation,  will  be  the  unavoidable  conse- 


LETTER  III.  47 

quence.  Let  the  doctrine  be  prevalent  that  Ecclesi- 
astical Boards  and  Voluntary  Associations  cannot 
maintain  separate  action  at  the  same  time  in  peaces 
that  they  must  either  be  united,  or  one  or  the  other 
put  down;  or  the  churches  kept  in  constant  agitation; 
— let  this  doctrine  be  maintained,  and  to  precisely  the 
same  extent  will  the  most  unhappy  consequences  be 
realized.  In  this  case,  the  churches  will  have  no 
peace,*  and  the  great  work  of  doing  good  will  be 
conducted  on  both  sides,  in  the  manner  ascribed  to 
the  old  ecclesiastic,  of  whom  it  was  said,  that  "he 
served  God  as  if  the  devil  were  in  him."  If  we  do 
not  get  along  with  entire  harmony  and  comfort,  it 
will  be  our  own  fault.  It  will  arise  from  the  want  of 
"moral  ability,"  not  of  "natural."  If  Voluntary  Asso- 
ciations keep  their  proper  place,  without  recrimina- 
tion, and  without  encroachment;  and  if  Ecclesiasti- 
cal Boards  confine  themselves  to  their  appropriate 
sphere,  without  any  offensive  claim  or  interference, 
what  is  to  prevent  all  parties  living  together  in  peace? 
In  short,  all  serious  difficulty  will  vanish,  if  those 
bodies  will  faithfully  and  constantly  speak  to  each 
other,  and  act  towards  each  other  in  that  spirit  of 
mutual  kindness  which  marked  the  amicable  nego- 
tiation between  the  patriarch  Abraham  and  his  ne- 
phew. Lot.  "And  Abraham  said  unto  Lot,  Let  there 
be  no  strife,  I  pray  thee,  betvreen  me  and  thee,  and 
between  my  herdmen  and  thy  herdmen;  for  we  be 
brethren.  Is  not  the  whole  land  before  thee.^  Sepa- 
rate thyself,  I  pray  ihee,  from  me: — if  thou  wilt  take 
the  left  hand,  then  I  will  go  to  the  right,  or  if  thou 
depart  to  the  right  hand,  then  I  will  go  to  the  left." 
Our  respected  brethren  of  the  Dutch  Church  have 
long  had  a  Domestic  Missionary  Society,  sustained 


48  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

by  the  funds,  and  designed  to  promote  the  enlarge- 
ment of  their  own  particular  denomination^  but  I 
have  never  heard  of  any  collision  between  this  body 
and  the  Home  Missionary  Society.  They  operate  in 
the  same  parts  of  the  country  without  difficulty;  nay, 
so  far  as  I  know,  with  entire  harmony;  very  many  of 
the  members  of  the  Dutch  Church,  with  a  liberality 
which  does  them  honour,  contributing  constantly  to 
both.  In  like  manner,  the  same  Church,  if  I  mis- 
take not,  has,  for  a  number  of  years,  sustained  by  and 
for  their  own  body,  an  Education  Board.  But  no 
strife  between  that  Board  and  the  American  Educa- 
tion Society  has  ever  come  to  my  knowledge.  Seve- 
ral other  examples  of  a  similar  kind  are  known  to 
exist  in  our  country.  Why  cannot  the  Assembly's 
Board  of  Missions,  and  the  Home  Missionary  So- 
ciety, "go  and  do  likewise?"  Why  cannot  all  our 
Ecclesiastical  Boards  and  Voluntary  Associations 
live  together  in  the  same  Christian  concord? 

Princeton,  Jan.  2otk.  1833. 


LETTER    IV.  49 

LETTER  lY. 

Voluntary  Associations,  and  Ecclesiastical  Boards. 

Christian  Brethren, 

The  foregoing  discussion  of  the  subject  of  Volun- 
tary Associations  is  intended  to  apply,  more  parti- 
cularly, to  the  existing  division  of  opinion  in  our 
Church,  in  regard  to  that  subject  And  accordingly, 
in  all  that  has  been  said,  there  was  a  constant  eye  to 
that  application  of  the  general  inquiry.  It  is  my  wish, 
however,  in  the  present  letter,  to  examine  the  general 
subject  a  little  more  at  largej  to  state  the  arguments 
of  those  who  contend,  that  Voluntary  Associations 
are  alone  adapted  to  carry  on  the  great  works  of  be- 
nevolence at  the  present  day^  and  to  answer  the  ob- 
jections which  these  partisans  are  wont  to  urge 
against  the  practicability  of  accomplishing  much 
good  by  means  of  Ecclesiastical  Bodies. 

The  remarks  in  the  preceding  letter  will  show 
that  I  am  no  enemy  to  Voluntary  Associations.  On 
the  contrary,  I  repeat,  my  deep  conviction  is,  that 
they  occupy  a  most  important  place  in  the  religious 
movements  of  the  present  age.  It  is  only  with  those 
who  assert  that,  in  the  great  work  of  Christian  effort 
for  the  conversion  of  the  world,  Voluntary  Associa- 
tions on/i/ *an  be  expected  to  furnish  efficient  and 
valuable  instrumentality,  that  I  have  any  contest. 
With  these  I  can  by  no  means  concur.  Scripture, 
reason  and  experience  are  all,  I  am  confident,  against 
them.    And  however  ardent  the  piety,  and  active  the 

E 


50  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

zeal  of  those  who  entertain  this  opinion,  I  have  no 
doubt  they  will  be  found  in  the  end,  though  they  can- 
not now  be  persuaded  to  believe  it,  so  far  as  they  act 
upon  the  principle  in  question,  to  be  opposing  the 
best  interest  of  Zion. 

And,  in  the  outset,  allow  me  explicitly  to  put  you 
on  your  guard  against  one  assertion,  often  made,  and 
extensively  taken  for  granted,  as  generally  applicable. 
It  is,  that  those  who  are  friendly  to  the  agency  of 
Ecclesiastical  Bodies  in  the  great  work  of  Christian 
benevolence,  are  universally,  and  of  course,  the  ene- 
mies of  Voluntary  Associations,  in  any  form,  and  for 
any  purpose.  This  is  a  most  unjust  assertion.  I 
have  not  only  declared,  repeatedly,  and  with  the  ut- 
most sincerity,  in  the  preceding  letter,  that  the  charge 
does  not  apply  to  myself;  but  I  also  know,  assuredly, 
that  it  does  not  apply  to  multitudes  of  ministers,  and 
others  in  our  church.  There  are,  indeed,  some— I 
have  no  doubt  a  small  number — of  pious,  excellent 
men  belonging  to  our  body,  who  have  been  so  deeply 
impressed  by  some  of  the  movements  of  at  least  one 
Voluntary  Association  in  our  country,  as  hastily  to 
conclude  that  all  such  associations  are  dangerous, 
and  can  never  be  permanently  useful.  This  impres- 
sion,! repeat,  is  very  limited  in  its  extent.  It  belongs 
not  to  the  great  body  of  the  Presbyterian  Church; 
and  it  is  a  calumny  to  represent  it  as  the  prevailing 
doctrine  of  Presbyterians,  or  even  of  old  school  Pres- 
byterians. As  long  as  associations  of  this  kind  keep 
their  proper  place,  and  avoid  all  interference  with 
Ecclesiastical  Bodies,  as  such,  I  can  venture  to  say, 
that  nineteen-twentieths,  at  least,  even  of  those  who 
are  styled  "old  school"  men  in  our  church,  will  wish 
them  well,  and  take  pleasure  in  helping  them  forward 


LETTER   IV. 


51 


in  their  "labours  of  love."  And  if  all  offensive  mea- 
sures on  their  part  be  laid  aside,  the  remaining  twen- 
tieth part  will  soon  be  ready  to  accede  to  the  same 
spirit  of  cordial  conciliation. 

Allow  me  also  to  settle,  before  we  proceed  further, 
what  is  meant  w^hen  we  speak  oithe  Churchy  as  such, 
and  as  distinguished  from  Voluntary  Associations, 
engaging  in  benevolent  labours  for  the  conversion  of 
the  world.  It  would  seem,  at  first  view,  impossible 
for  any  thinking  mind  to  mistake  the  meaning  of  this 
language^  yet,  as  some  have  professed  to  be  at  a  loss 
to  understand  it,  a  few  words  of  explanation  may  not 
be  useless.  It  is  well  known  that  the  word  church 
has  various  significations  in  Scripture,  as  well  as  in 
popular  speech.  It  sometimes  means  the  invisible 
church,  which  includes  all  the  real  followers  of  Christ, 
whether  still  in  conflict  on  earth,  or  glorified  in  hea- 
ven. At  other  times  it  is  intended  to  express  the 
whole  body  of  those  who  profess  the  true  religion 
throughout  the  world,  and  of  all  denominations.  In 
a  very  precious  sense,  that  great  multitude  may  be 
said  to  be  07ie  churchy  however  divided  into  parties 
and  denominations,  and  however  reluctant  some  of 
the  denominations  of  which  it  is  composed,  may  be 
to  acknowledge  one  another  as  members  of  the  body 
of  Christ.  But,  still  further,  the  w^ord  church,  in 
common  parlance  is,  perhaps,  more  frequently  enploy- 
ed  to  designate  a  particular  section  or  denomination 
of  this  general  body.  Such  as,  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  the  Methodist  Church,  the  Baptist  Church, 
&c.  Now  when  we  speak  of  an  ecclesiastical  orga- 
nization for  spreading  the  Gospel,  or  for  accomplish- 
ing any  benevolent  object,  in  other  words,  when  we 
represent  the  Church,  as  such^  as  acting  in  a  matte" 


52  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

of  this  kind,  we  mean  a  particular  organized  body, 
or  denomination  of  the  great  Christian  family.  When 
we  say,  for  example,  that  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
the  United  States,  has  publicly  adopted  a  certain 
Form  of  Government,  and  a  certain  Confession  of 
Faith,  and  has  pursued  a  certain  system  of  measures 
for  promoting  revivals  of  religion,  and  for  the  edifi- 
cation of  her  members;  every  intelligent  hearer  knows 
what  is  meant.  It  is  the  Church  who  is  described 
in  these  cases,  as  acting  by  her  representatives,  and 
in  her  regular  judicatories.  In  precisely  the  same 
sense  is  the  term  used  when  it  is  said,  that  the  Pres- 
byterian, or  any  other  church,  as  such,  is  engaged,  or 
proposes  to  engage,  in  a  plan  for  conducting  domes- 
tic or  foreign  missions,  or  for  the  education  of  her 
candidates  for  the  holy  ministry.  We  mean  to  say, 
that  the  Church,  in  her  distinct  and  denominational 
capacity,  does  these  things;  and  the  language  is 
equally  proper,  whether  she  herself  immediately  exe- 
cutes as  well  as  forms  the  plan;  or  whether  she 
chooses  a  committee  or  board,  the  members  of  which 
belong  to  her  own  communion,  to  carry  into  execution 
her  wishes.  Not  only  so;  but  if  any  one  Presbytery 
or  Synod  belonging  to  our  Church,  should,  as  such, 
commence  a  system  of  missionary  operations;  or  if 
twenty  or  thirty  Presbyteries,  connected  with  differ- 
ent Synods,  should  agree  to  unite,  in  their  organized 
capacity,  for  carrying  on  such  a  system;  it  would  be, 
properly  speaking,  an  ecclesiastical  organization;  al- 
though it  could  not,  with  propriety,  be  said  to  be  an 
act  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  large.  When, 
therefore,  we  speak  of  Ecclesiastical  Boards,  we  mean 
boards  for  executive  action  constituted  by  Ecclesiasti- 
cal Bodies;  subject  to  ecclesiastical  authority;  con- 


LETTER  IV.  53 

ducted  on  ecclesiastical  principles;  and  amenable  to 
eeclesiastical  tribunals.  If  the  Church  were  all  one 
in  name  and  spirit,  as  it  was  in  the  days  of  the  Apos- 
tles, we  should  never  hear  of  sectarian  names,  in 
speaking  of  what  the  Church  is  doing.  Even  then, 
however,  the  Church  in  Asia^  the  Church  in  Greece,  or 
the  Church  in  Rome,  might  without  impropriety,  have 
been  represented  as  engaging  in  plans  of  Christian 
benevolence;  and,  in  that  case,  "the  Church,"  as  such 
might  have  been  considered  as  acting.  In  like  man- 
ner, if  all  the  judicatories  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  the  State  of  New  York  were  to  undertake  a  great 
missionary  enterprise,  every  one  sees  that  it  would 
be  an  undertaking  of  the  Church,  that  is  of  a  section 
of  the  Church,  availing  itself  of  the  ties  which  bind 
its  several  parts  together,  to  secure  unity  and  energy 
of  action. 

These  principles  may  appear  to  some  too  obvious 
to  require  so  much  elucidation.  Yet  as  they  have 
been  so  frequently  and  so  entirely  misapprehended, 
it  was  thought  best  to  state  them  explicitly  at  the 
threshold  of  the  ensuing  discussion. 

The  great  question,  then,  is,  are  Voluntary  Asso- 
ciations alone  suitable  for  carrying  on  the  plans  of 
Christian  benevolence,  at  the  present  day;  or  may 
Ecclesiastical  Boards  properly,  and  with  great  ad- 
vantage, co-operate  in  this  interesting  work?  The 
former  doctrine  I  am  constrained  to  reject.  The 
latter,  I  cannot  doubt,  is  sound  and  Scriptural. 

The  friends  of  the  doctrine,  that  Voluntary  Asso- 
ciations alone  are  adapted,  in  the  present  state  of  the 
world,  to  the  active  and  energetic  pursuit  of  the 
great  work  of  doing  good,  are  in  the  habit  of  ad- 
ducing in  support  of  their  doctrine  the  following  ar- 
E  2 


54  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

guments.  I  shall  endeavour  with  all  fairness  to 
state,  and  briefly  to  examine  each  of  these  arguments, 
so  far  as  they  have  come  to  my  knowledge;  and, 
having  done  this,  to  present  some  of  the  principal 
considerations  which  led  me  to  embrace  the  opposite 
opinion. 

1.  The  first  argument  commonly  urged  by  the  ex- 
clusive friends  of  Voluntary  Associations,  in  behalf  of 
their  doctrine,  is  drav/n  from  the  alleged  fact^  that 
almost  all  the  good  which  has  been  done,  especially  in 
modern  times,  has  been  accomplished,  not  by  the  Church 
in  her  organized  capacity,  but  by  Voluntary  »8.ssocia- 
tions.  Now  the  assertion  here  made,  if  I  mistake  not, 
is  false  in  fact;  and  would  deserve  to  be  set  aside  as 
a  non  sequitur,  even  if  it  were  true. 

It  is  false  in  fact.  That  is,  the  alleged  fact  which 
it  assumes,  cannot  be  admitted.  The  instances  are 
numerous  of  much  good  being  done  by  Ecclesiastical 
Bodies,  long  before  Voluntary  Associations  became 
either  frequent  or  efficient.  Has  the  General  Assem- 
bly of  the  Church  of  Scotland  done  nothing  for  en- 
lightening and  evangelizing  the  destitute  parts  of 
their  own  country  and  other  countries?  Let  the  his- 
tory of  that  church  tell.  Have  the  highest  judicato- 
ries of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States 
done  nothing  toward  sending  the  Gospel  and  planting 
churches  among  the  frontier  settlements?  The  old 
Synod  began  this  hallowed  work,  as  we  have  seen, 
near  seventy  years,  ago  when  no  Voluntary  Associa- 
tions for  this  purpose  were  known  on  this  side  of  the 
Atlantic,  and  when  most  of  the  religious  denomina- 
tions around  her  were  fast  asleep  in  reference  to  their 
duty  in  this  matter.  The  General  Assembly,  as  be- 
fore stated,  in  the  very  first  year  of  its  formation, 


LETTER    IV.  55 

upwards  of  forty-three  years  since,  commenced  a 
system  of  missionary  operations,  which  it  has  been 
every  year  pursuing;  and  though  not  always  with  de- 
sirable zeal  or  success,  yet  with  a  perseverance  which 
has  led  to  the  planting  of  hundreds  of  churches  in 
the  new  settlements  of  the  United  States.  Again, 
the  Church  of  the  United  Brethren^  usually  called 
Moravians,  has  been  greatly  distinguished  for  more 
than  a  hundred  years,  for  its  zeal  and  energy  in  con- 
ducting Christian  missions.  Perhaps  it  may  be  said, 
that  the  Missionary  operations  of  no  people  were  ever 
so  strictly  ecclesiastical  as  theirs  ;  and  that  no  body  of 
people,  of  the  same  numerical  strength,  ever  laboured 
so  systematically,  or  so  successfully  in  the  work  of 
evangelizing  the  heathen.  It  is  further  evident  that 
several  of  the  missionary  bodies  which  the  advocates 
of  the  doctrine  in  question  confidently  number  with 
Voluntary  Associations,  such  as  the  "  Church  Mis- 
sionary Society,"  and  the  "  Baptist  Missionary  So- 
ciety," of  Great  Britain,  are  really,  in  their  spirit  and 
essential  character,  Ecclesiastial  Bodies;  being  each 
made  up  of  the  members  of  one  denomination;  having 
no  connexion,  unless  it  be  to  beg  pecuniary  aid,  with 
any  other  sects;  and  being  governed  in  the  whole 
management  of  their  missions  by  strictly  ecclesiasti- 
cal principles.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  "  Wes- 
leyan,"  and  some  other  missionary  societies.  They 
are  not  ecclesiastical  bodies  in  the  technical  sense  of 
that  phrase;  but  they  are  so  in  all  the  exclusiveness 
of  their  intercourse,  and  in  all  the  denominational 
rigour  of  the  principles  on  which  they  are  conducted. 
Many  other  notorious  examples,  in  opposition  to  the 
alleged  fact  before  us,  might  be  produced  were  there 
time  or  necessity  for  it.     The  truth  is,  the  whole  as- 


56  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

sumption  is  derived  from  a  narrow  and  indistinct 
view  of  ecclesiastical  history.  It  has  nothing  like 
the  foundation  in  fact  which  is  confidently  asserted. 

But  even  if  the  assumption  before  us  were  really 
warranted  by  fact,  it  would  be  entitled  to  much  less 
weight  in  the  argument  than  is  commonly  ascribed  to 
it.  Because  the  Church  of  God  has  been  asleep  for 
ages  in  regard  to  the  great  work  of  evangelizing  the 
worldj  because  Ecclesiastical  Bodies  have  done  com- 
paratively little  in  this  work,  until  within  forty  years, 
what  legitimate  inference  can  be  drawn  from  the  ac- 
knowledged fact,  but  that  the  whole  nominally  Chris- 
tian family  was  in  a  state  of  criminal  torpor  with  re- 
spect to  its  duty?  Voluntary  Associations  have  been 
long  known.  Several  centuries  ago,  they  were  in  ex- 
istence, and  in  very  vigorous  and  affluent  existence: 
but  what  have  they  done  until  within  thirty  or  forty 
years, for  efficiently  carrying  the  Gospel  to  a  benighted 
world?  Quite  as  legitimately,  therefore,  might  an 
argument  be  brought  against  Voluntary  Associations, 
because  they  have  done  so  little  for  the  conversion  of 
the  world  until  within  a  very  recent  period.  No 
man,  I  say  again,  rejoices  more  cordially  than  I  do  in 
the  good  that  is  doing  by  Voluntary  Associations,  or 
more  sincerely  wishes  that  it  may  be  augmented  and 
blessed^  but  no  one,  I  think,  can  doubt,  that  the  com- 
parative magnitude  of  the  good  which  they  do,  ap- 
pears greater,  from  the  greater  novelty  and  bustle, 
and  consequent  prominence,  of  these  Associations, 
when  compared  with  Ecclesiastical  Bodies^  which 
appear  to  be  doing  less,  because  they  are  older;  have 
been  longer  familiar  to  the  public  view;  and  are  pro- 
ceeding with  more  silent  steps. 

2,  Another   argument  which  has  been  urged   in 


LETTER    IV.  57 

favour  of  the  almost  exclusive  enterprise  and  useful- 
ness of  Voluntary  Associations,  is,  "  that  they  are 
made  up  of  *  Vohmteers,'  and  *  officered  by  men  of 
select  and  devoted  character;'  and  of  course^  will  be 
more  likely  to  work  with  zeal  and  energy  than  the  mem- 
bers of  Ecclesiastical  Bodies.''  This  is  most  extraor- 
dinary reasoning.  Is  not  the  Christian  Church  in  all 
Protestant  denominations,  made  up  exclusively  of 
"  Volunteers^"  and  is  it  not  "  officered"  by  men  in 
the  highest  degree  "  select  and  devoted.^"  At  least 
if  it  be  not  so,  the  fault  is  not  either  in  the  Head  or 
in  the  Scriptural  constitution  of  the  Church;  but  in 
the  want  of  wisdom  or  fidelity  in  its  administration. 
Is  not  such  a  character  indispensably  required  by 
the  authority  of  its  Master,  and  by  every  essential 
principle  of  its  organization.^  Surely,  if  voluntary 
devotion,  and  ardent  disinterested  zeal  are  not  to  be 
found  in  the  Church,  it  is  not  easy  to  conceive  where 
associations  out  of  her  pale  should  find  them.  If 
men  who  appear  wakeful,  forward  and  active  in  Vo- 
luntary Associations,  are  drones  and  slumberers  in 
the  Church,  can  charity  herself  avoid  the  conclusion 
that  something  besides  deep-seated  Christian  princi- 
ple; something  occasional  and  temporary;  something 
connected  with  carnal  motives  and  objects  is,  at  least 
in  part,  the  stimulus  by  which  they  are  actuated? 
$'^.  It  is  further  alleged,  that  "Voluntary  Associa- 
tions, by  bringing  Christians  of  different  denominations 
to  unite  and  act  together^  have  a  tendency  to  promote 
liberal  and  Catholic  feelings;  whereas  the  natural  opera- 
tion of  Ecclesiastical  Bodies  is  to  beget  a  narrow ,  secta- 
rian spirit." 

If  this  argument  proves  any  thing,  it  will  prove  too 
much.     It  will  show  that  all  the  fences  which  divide 


58  LETTERS  TO    PRESBYTERIANS. 

different  denominations,  ought  at  once  to  be  broken 
downj  that  it  is  criminal  in  any  Church  to  "contend 
for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints;"  and,  of 
course,  that  all  distinctive  testimony,  on  the  part  of 
any  portion  of  the  Christian  family,  in  favour  of  that 
truth  and  order  which  are  revealed  in  Scripture,  is  un- 
commanded  and  wrong.  Can  this  consequence  be  ad- 
mitted? What,  then,  becomes  of  all  those  injunctions 
in  the  word  of  God,  which  represent  professing  Chris- 
tians as  "  witnesses  for  God"  in  the  midst  of  a  deluded 
and  unbelieving  world,  and  which  bind  them  to  main- 
tain faithfully  and  in  their  purity  all  such  doctrines, 
as  well  as  all  such  religious  worship  and  ordinances 
as  God  has  revealed  in  his  word?  Suppose,  for  ar- 
gument's sake,  that  Presbyterians  are  really  persuaded 
that  the  "  system  of  doctrine,"  and  form  of  govern- 
ment and  discipline  held  forth  in  their  ecclesiastical 
formularies,  is  taught  in  Scripture,  and  ought  to  be 
maintained  and  propagated.  Is  it  criminal  in  them 
to  admit  this  conviction,  and  act  accordingly?  Is  it 
rebellion  against  Christ  to  endeavour  to  lift  up  a 
standard  against  error,  and  to  preserve  pure  and  en- 
tire the  faith  and  order  of  the  Gospel?  If  it  be,  then 
all  the  partition  walls  which  distinguish  the  differ- 
ent portions  of  the  great  family  nominally  called  Chris- 
tians, ought  at  once  to  be  taken  away,  and  all  discri- 
minating testimony  against  heresy,  and  in  favour  of 
sound  doctrine  to  be  abandoned.  This  will  not  be 
pretended  by  any  man  who  lays  claim  to  the  charac- 
ter of  an  evangelical  Christian.  But  if  Churches,  as 
such,  ought  to  maintain  the  truth^  is  it  wrong  for  them 
to  maintain  it  in  sending  the  Gospel  to  those  who  have 
it  not? 

But  you  will,  perhaps,  ask, are  the  members  of  ortho- 


LETTER    IV.  59 

dox  Churches  bound,  then,  to  withhold  all  co-opera- 
tion and  aid  from  those  plans  and  measures  for  spread- 
ing the  Gospel,  which  embrace  some  with  whom  they 
cannot  in  all  things  perfectly  agree?  By  no  means. 
After  maintaining  their  oivn  testimony^  that  is  their 
own  Church,  with  fidelity  and  zeal,  they  are  not  only 
at  liberty,  but  bound  to  help  forward  all  those  plans 
which  appear  adapted  on  the  whole  to  extend  the 
Redeemer's  kingdom.  They  are  under  obligations 
first  to  be  faithful  to  all  their  duties  in  reference  to 
that  Church  which  they  believe  to  be  nearest  to  the 
scriptural  model,*  and  then  to  aid  in  promoting 
every  other  institution,  the  general  tendency  of  which 
is  to  promote  the  temporal  and  eternal  welfare  of 
mankind.  While  they  do  the  latter,  however,  ac- 
cording to  their  ability,  they  ought  not  to  leave  the 
former  undone.  But  the  argument  which  I  am  op- 
posing seems  to  be  founded  on  the  principle,  that  the 
latter  only  is  duty,  and  that  all  regard  to  ih.^  former  is 
narrow-minded  and  sectarian.  Is  this  the  principle 
intended  to  be  avowed.^  If  so,  let  us  understand  it. 
The  fact  is,  however,  the  strictest  fidelity  to  the  dis- 
tinguishing truths  and  institutions  of  the  Gospel  is 
not  only  consistent  with  the  most  enlarged  charity 
for  all  evangelical  denominations;  but  all  history  at- 
tests, that  those  who  have  been  most  faithful  to  their 
conscientious  convictions,  as  adherents  to  their  chosen 
denomination,  have  been  at  the  same  time,  most 
ready  to  aid  every  good  enterprise  out  of  their  own 
pale.  Show  me  a  Presbyterian  who  habitually  mani- 
fests the  largest  share  of  public  spirit  and  zeal  in  sus- 
taining the  benevolent  enterprises  of  his  own  particu- 
lar denomination;  and  I  will  show  you  one  to  whom 
every  benevolent  and  pious  enterprise,  out  of  that  de- 


60  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

nomination,  has  been  encouraged  to  look  for  counte- 
nance and  patronage. 

4.  It  has,  further,  been  contended  in  favour  of  com- 
mitting the  benevolent  enterprises  of  the  day  to  Vo- 
luntary Associations  alone,  rather  than  to  Ecclesias- 
tical Bodies,  "  that  the  former  tends  to  promote  freedom; 
the  latter  despotism :  that  when  this  important  work  is 
committed  to  Ecclesiastical  Boards^  it  is  adapted  to  build 
up  a  strong  system  of  ecclesiastical  government;  whereas, 
if  it  be  carried  on  by  men  who  are  wholly  free  from  the 
trammels  of  Church  rules  and  Church  authority,  it  is 
attended  ivith  no  such  danger.** 

Many  of  those  who  urge  this  argument  tell  us  that 
they  admire  Presbyterian  Church  government;  that 
the  system  of  connexion  and  supervision  by  Presby- 
teries, Synods,  and  the  General  Assembly,  has  their 
entire  approbation;  and  that  as  long  as  these  bodies - 
perform  their  proper  work,  in  deciding  appeals,  set- 
tling differences,  and  promoting  intercourse,  fellow- 
ship, and  harmonious  action  among  all  the  churches 
within  the  sphere  of  their  jurisdiction,  the  whole  plan 
is  adapted  to  do  great  good,  and  has  their  best  wishes. 
But  that  when  the  great  Missionary  and  Education 
causes,  and  other  benevolent  executive  enterprises 
are  undertaken  by  the  Church,  as  such,  it  has  a  ten- 
dency to  secularize  and  corrupt  her;  to  create  a  thirst 
for  power;  and  to  issue  in  dangerous  encroachments 
on  Christian  liberty.  In  one  word,  if  I  understand 
the  spirit  of  the  argument,  it  is  this;  that  as  long  as 
ecclesiastical  judicatories  are  confined  to  the  work  of 
government  and  discipline,  there  is  no  fear  of  them; 
but  that  when  they  undertake  to  intrude  into  the  pro- 
vince of  doing  good,  they  become  dangerous!  That 
while  they  "take  order"  respecting  references,  appeals, 


I 


LETTER  IV.  61 

complaints,  schismatic  contentions,  and  the  adjust- 
ment of  all  cases  of  order  and  discipline,  our  religious 
rights  are  safe;  but  that  when  they  venture  to  cherish 
feelings  of  compassion  for  the  destitute  and  the  pe- 
rishing, and  undertake  to  send  them  the  Gospel,  and 
thus  to  extend  the  Redeemer's  kingdom;  and  when 
they  attempt  to  form  and  execute  plans  for  selecting 
and  preparing  the  sons  of  the  Church  for  her  sacred 
ministry,  there  is  danger  of  ecclesiastical  encroach- 
ment and  domination! 

The  very  statement  of  this  argument,  I  should 
suppose,  is  sufficient  to  refute  it.  Indeed,  if  the  di- 
rect converse  of  the  allegation  on  which  the  argu- 
ment rests  were  made,  it  would,  evidently,  wear  an 
aspect  more  like  the  truth.  Ecclesiastical  Bodies, 
constantly  employed  in  acts  of  government  and  disci- 
pline only;  exercising  judicial  authority;  deciding 
appeals;  adjusting  differences;  and  presiding  over  all 
investitures  with  office,  and  all  official  decisions; — 
Ecclesiastical  Bodies,  I  say,  constantly  engaged  in  the 
discharge  of  such  functions,  and  such  only,  might  be 
imagined,  by  a  suspicious  mind,  to  be  in  danger  of 
having  a  love  of  power,  and  a  spirit  of  encroachment 
and  domination  cherished  by  these  habitual  employ- 
ments. But  the  moment  such  bodies  began  to  en- 
gage in  enterprises  of  direct  and  unmingled  benevo- 
lence; the  moment  they  commenced  the  work  of 
planning,  preaching,  and  praying  for  the  poor  hea- 
then, and  others  destitute  of  Gospel  ordinances,  and 
of  rousing  themselves  and  others  to  this  labour  of 
love; — one  would  imagine  that  a  spirit  of  ambition 
and  dominion  would  be  one  of  the  last  that  would  be 
apt  to  arise  as  the  fruit  of  such  employments.  If 
there  be  any  thing  adapted  to  soften  the  heart,  and 

F 


62  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

to  cause  it  to  overflow  with  sentiments  of  Christian 
benevolence  and  charity,  it  is  being  engaged,  in  good 
earnest,  in  imparting  the  knowledge  of  the  love  of 
God  in  Christ  to  perishing  men. 

If,  indeed.  Ecclesiastical  Bodies  were  to  claim,  and 
attempt  to  exercise,  the  power  o{ prohibiting  all  others^ 
excepting  themselves^  from  engaging  in  this  work  of 
faith,  and  labour  of  love, — there  might  be  room  for 
jealousy,  and  even  alarm,  on  the  score  of  ecclesias- 
tical domination.  But  has  such  an  attempt,  or  claim, 
ever  been  made.^  Has  any  church  in  our  land,  or  in 
any  other  Protestant  land,  ever  dreamed  of  crushing, 
or  even  forbidding  any  plan  for  spreading  the  Gospel, 
or  promoting  the  moral  benefit  of  mankind,  out  of 
her  own  pale?  Some  excellent  men  have,  indeed, 
formed  and  published  the  opinion,  that  no  enlighten- 
ed friend  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom,  ought  to  be 
willing  to  encourage  and  help  forward  any  Missionary 
association  which  v/as  not  responsible,  for  the  doc- 
trines and  worship  which  it  sent  forth,  and  for  the 
character  of  its  missionaries,  to  some  Ecclesiastical 
Body.  This  is  not  my  opinion.  But  I  see  nothing, 
even  in  this  doctrine,  to  furnish  ground  for  the  impu- 
tation which  I  am  now  opposing.  These  good  men 
think,  and  think  justly,  that  every  Church  of  Christ 
is  bound,  as  such,  to  be  a  constant  witness  in  favour 
of  pure  Gospel  truth  and  order;  and  to  maintain  a 
constant  agency  in  spreading  them  abroad.  When 
they  go  one  step  further,  and  maintain  that  none  of 
the  members  of  this  Church  ought  to  feel  at  liberty, 
as  individuals,  to  patronize  any  religious  scheme, 
which  has  not  some  ecclesiastical  responsibility, 
they  draw  an  inference  which  I  cannot,  indeed,  adopt; 
but  which  appears  to  me  by  no  means  liable  to  the 


LETTER  IV.  63 

charge  of  ecclesiastical  domination.  If  I,  injudi- 
ciously, but  conscientiously,  decline  having  any  thing 
to  do  with  a  popular  undertaking,  I  may  make  a  very 
unwise  use  of  my  own  power,  but  I  surely  cannot  be 
said  to  encroach  on  the  rights  of  others. 

5.  A  further  plea  in  behalf  of  Voluntary  Associa- 
tions alone  being  employed  in  the  great  work  of  Chris- 
tian benevolence,  is,  that  they  can  engage  in  new  en- 
terprises loith  MORE  PROMPTNESS,  than  Ecclesiastical  Bo- 
dies,  which  must  necessarily  iv ait  until  a  majority  of  the 
Church  can  be  enlisted  in  the  measure,  or  prevailed  upon 
to  move.  To  this  plea  I  answer,  that  expedition  is 
not  the  only,  or  even  the  chief  good  quality  in  reli- 
gious movements.  It  is  of  more  importance  to  move 
wisely  and  with  energy,  than  in  haste.  Many  ad- 
vantages may  sometimes  be  gained  by  waiting  a  short 
time,  and  taking  the  whole  Church  along.  But  there 
is  no  need  of  thus  waiting  in  any  case.  A  single 
Presbytery  or  Synod,  on  becoming  convinced  that  a 
certain  course  is  proper,  may  enter  upon  it  at  once, 
without  waiting  fpr  the  concurrence  of  the  whole  de- 
nomination with  which  it  is  connected.  Nay,  this 
miay  be,  in  some  cases,  the  very  best  method  of  com- 
mencing ecclesiastical  enterprises.  Besides,  it  seems 
to  be  perpetually  forgotten,  that  the  question  is,  not 
whether  those  non-ecclesiastical  bodies  who  feel  ready 
to  move  with  promptness  in  any  good  enterprise, 
should  be  allowed  with  all  freedom  to  go  forward^ 
but  whether  they  cdone  shall  enjoy  this  privilege,  and 
the  Church,  as  such,  however  desirous  of  going  for- 
ward, be  compelled  to  stand  still,  and  to  fold  her 
hands  in  inactivity.^  Let  Voluntary  Associations 
enjoy  the  advantage  of  all  the  energy  and  expedition 
with  which  they  can  pursue  their  objects.     And  even 


64  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

if  the  Ecclesiastical  Boards  in  their  neighbourhood 
do  not  enjoy  these  advantages,  in  the  same  degree, 
(which,  however,  is  not  necessarily  the  case,)  perhaps 
their  deliberation — their  waiting  a  little  for  one  ano- 
ther, may  not  be  v/ithout  some  countervailing  benefits. 
6.  It  has  been  further  urged,  with  great  confidence, 
"  that  Voluntary  Associations  alone  ought  to  engage 
in  benevolent  enterprises  for  evangelizing  the  world, 
because,  when  they  are  undertaken  by  Ecclesiastical 
Bodies^  they  too  often  give  rise  to  controversy  and  strife: 
—whereas,  if  conducted  by  Voluntary  Societies,  who 
are  of  one  mind,  and  no  others  will,  of  course,  unite 
in  the  scheme,  there  will  always  be  harmony  of  ac- 
tion." This  argument,  if  admitted  to  be  valid,  would 
prove  that  Ecclesiastical  Bodies  ought  never  to  un- 
dertake any  thing;  for  I  know  of  no  subject  on  which 
they  can  be  called  to  deliberate  on  which  diversity  of 
opinion  may  not  arise.  Controversies  often  arise  in 
such  bodies,  and  sometimes  of  a  very  animated  cha- 
racter, in  regard  to  questions  of  government  and  dis- 
cipline. Shall  we  therefore  infer,  that  such  questions 
ought  never  to  be  discussed  ?  There  was  "  much 
disputing"  in  the  Synod  of  Jerusalem,  in  the  aposto- 
lic age,  when  the  question  respecting  Jewish  observ- 
ance w^as  under  deliberation: — still,  as  the  Holy  Ghost 
decided,  that  was  very  proper  business  for  the  Synod 
to  undertake  and  decide.  There  is,  manifestly,  no 
more  need  of  strife  in  pursuing  enterprises  of  Chris- 
tian benevolence,  than  in  settling  cases  of  appeal  and 
complaint  from  contending  parties,  or  any  other  de- 
partment of  mere  discipline.  If,  in  Ecclesiastical 
Bodies,  there  be  warm  and  obstinate  partisans,  who 
are  not  willing  that  the  bodies  in  question  should  do 
their  appropriate  work,  and  who  make  difficulty  and 


LETTER  IV.  65 

trouble  whenever  it  is  undertaken;  it  is,  surely,  with 
a  very  ill  gface  that  such  partisans  assign  as  a  rea- 
son why  such  work  should  never  be  undertaken,  that 
it  always  occasions  controversy!  The  whole  diffi- 
culty arises,  not  from  the  nature  or  bearing  of  the 
duty  to  be  performed,  but  from  the  heat  and  acerbity 
of  party  feeling. 

7.  I  shall  notice  only  one  argument  more  which  I 
have  heard  adduced  in  favour  of  Voluntary  Associa- 
tions, as  exclusively  proper  to  be  employed  in  enter- 
prises of  Christian  benevolence.  It  is,  that  such  as- 
sociations can  more  easily  than  Ecclesiastical  Bodies, 
enlist  the  co-operation  of  pious  public  spirited  laymen, 
who  have  too  long  been  in  the  habit  of  surrendering 
almost  entirely  to  clergymen  the  affairs  of  the  church, 
and  all  prominent  agency  in  "  ecclesiastical  matters." 
This  plea,  like  all  the  rest,  has  more  of  speciousness 
than  solidity.  Is  there  any  pious  laymen  of  whose 
zeal  and  services  the  Church,  in  her  organized  ca- 
pacity, may  not,  at  any  time,  avail  herself?  If  such 
persons  cannot  cdl  be  introduced  into  her  judicatories 
as  elders,  or  into  her  service  as  deacons,  they  can  be 
all  habitually  employed  by  those  judicatories,  as 
members  of  standing  committees,  or  permanent 
boards,  for  doing  the  Church's  work.  How  many 
pious  devoted  laymen  in  the  Presbyterian  Church 
are,  at  this  hour,  in  their  capacity  as  church-mem- 
bers, prorQoting  in  a  very  important  degree,  the  ex- 
tension of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom !  And  how  many 
more  might  be  thus  useful,  if  they  had  but  a  heart  for 
it!  The  truth  is,  wherever  there  are  laymen  in  the 
bosom  of  any  church  who  unite  knowledge,  good 
sense,  piety  and  zeal,  the  Church,  whatever  may  be 
the  form  of  her  government — and  certaiirly  ivith  at 

F  2 


66  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

least  as  much  advantage  under  the  Presbyterian  form 
as  any  other,  may  employ  every  one  of  them  in  the 
great  work  of  doing  good,  to  the  extent  of  their 
power,  in  full  consistency  with  her  ecclesiastical  or- 
ganization. There  may,  indeed,  be  a  moral  torpor  in 
the  Church,  which  may  cause  her  to  fail  of  putting 
in  requisition  all  the  services  of  such  members.  But 
this  delinquency  is  not  peculiar  to  the  Church.  It 
may  exist,  and  has  existed  in  every  kind  and  form 
of  society,  and  even,  very  strikingly,  in  Voluntary  As- 
sociations. The  history  of  some  old  Voluntary  Asso- 
ciations in  Europey  as  well  as  in  this  country,  af- 
fords in  support  of  this  remark,  ample  proof  and  il- 
lustration. 

In  reference,  however,  to  the  agency  of  laymen  in 
ecclesiastical  matters,  I  feel  constrained,  in  candour 
and  fidelity,  to  make  one  or  two  general  remarks,  be- 
fore taking  leave  of  the  subject;  remarks  which, 
however  they  may  thwart  the  feelings  of  some  of  my 
readers,  I  cannot  conscientiously  forbear  to  state, 
"  without  conferring  with  flesh  and  blood."  My  de- 
liberate opinion  then,  is,  that  while  pious  laymen 
have  a  large  and  most  important  sphere  of  duty  in 
the  Church  of  God 5  and  while  within  that  sphere, 
they  may  render  incalculable  services  in  promoting 
the  interests  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom;  yet  that 
this  agency  ought  ever  to  be  regulated  by  the  es- 
sential principles  of  scriptural  order;  and  that  when 
they  venture  beyond  the  limits  of  that  order,  and  en- 
croach upon  the  appropriate  functions  of  ecclesias- 
tical ojEBce,  their  agency  becomes  a  source  of  mis- 
chief, and  not  of  benefit.  I  believe  this  principle  has 
sometimes  been  forgotten;  but  never  without  injury 
to  the  cause  of  religion.     If  the  ministry  and  the  el- 


LETTER  IV.  67 

dership  in  the  Church  be  ordinances  of  divine  ap- 
pointment, they,  surely,  ought  not  to  be  trampled 
under  feet  or  nullified  by  the  lay  members  of  the  sa- 
cred family.  It  is  in  the  Church  as  in  the  State. 
Every  citizen,  as  such,  can  and  ought  to  do  much  for 
promoting  the  public  welfare^  but  when  he  inter- 
feres with  the  constitutional  functionaries  of  the 
State,  and  either  individually,  or  by  a  combination  of 
individuals  like  himself,  resists  or  usurps  the  power 
of  those  functionaries,  he  becomes  an  unwholesome 
member  of  the  republic.  Let  none  say  this  is  a  sug- 
gestion flov/ing  from  party  feeling.  It  embraces  a 
principle  which  applies  equally  to  all  parties.  And 
allow  me  to  say,  that  whatever  party  may  contravene 
this  principle,  will  find  in  the  end,  that  its  course  is 
as  contrary  to  sound  policy,  as  it  is  to  gospel  order. 
That  party  which  gains  strength  by  a  departure  from 
scriptural  regularity,  will  find,  when  it  is  too  late, 
that  its  strength  is  neither  healthful  nor  lasting. 

It  appears,  then,  that  all  the  arguments  which  have 
been  urged  in  favour  of  committing  the  great  enter- 
prises of  Christian  benevolence,  at  the  present  day, 
exclusively  to  Voluntary  Associations,  are  founded 
either  in  misapprehension  or  sophistry;  either  in  an 
entire  mistake  of  the  real  question  in  controversy;  or 
in  an  illegitimate  mixture  with  the  question  of  mat- 
ters which  have  no  proper  connexion  with  it.  How 
hard  is  it,  when  party  feeling  is  strongly  excited,  for 
either  side  to  contemplate  the  points  in  dispute  with 
a  truly  candid  spirit,  or  to  do  justice  to  the  positions 
of  the  other!  The  truth  is,  that  if  the  Church  were 
connected  with  the  State,  and  could  not  move  but 
with  the  concurrence  of  the  State,  and  with  all  those 
incumbrances  and  entanglements  which  such  a  con- 


68  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

nexion  seldom  fails  to  bring  with  it,  several  of  the 
arguments  above  stated  would  be  unanswerable.  But 
where  the  Church,  as  in  our  happy  country,  is  cursed 
with  no  such  corrupting  and  embarrassing  alliance, 
these  arguments  are  not  only  without  force,  but  they 
have  no  legitimate  application  whatever.  Here  the 
members  of  the  Church  are,  in  all  the  extent  of  the 
expression,  "volunteers^"  and,  in  our  communion, 
either  the  whole  body,  or  any  subordinate  judicatory, 
can  move,  whenever  it  pleases,  with  all  the  ardour 
and  celerity  that  Christian  zeal,  and  Christian  lovfe 
can  dictate. 

The  opinion  then,  which  after  much  careful  atten- 
tion to  the  suliject,  and  much  painful  observation  on 
the  course  of  events,  I  have  been  constrained  to  adopt, 
differs  essentially,  as  has  been  seen  in  the  preceding 
letter,  from  those  of  the  ultra  men  on  both  sides.  I 
hold,  not  that  Voluntary  Associations  ought  not  to 
exist  as  good-doing  bodies;  but  that  they  ought  not 
to  be  allowed  to  exclude  every  Ecclesiastical  Body 
from  this  work.  Not  that  they  should  be  shut  out 
from  their  full  share  of  the  enterprises  of  Christian 
benevolence;  but  that  they  ought  not  to  insist  on 
monopolizing  the  whole.  Not  that  they  should  be  in- 
terdicted from  the  most  free  and  zealous  services  to 
the  Redeemer's  kingdom  that  they  can  possibly  ren- 
der: but  that  they  ought  not  to  be  permitted  to  inter- 
fere with  the  rights  or  the  duties  of  those  Ecclesias- 
tical Bodies  to  which  some  of  their  members  may 
respectively  belong.  Not,  in  a  word,  that  they  should 
be  themselves  destroyed  or  injured;  but  that  they 
should  not  be  permitted  to  destroy  or  injure  others. 

There  are  some  further  remarks  which  I  wish  to 
have  an  opportunity  of  offering  on  this  subject:  but 


LETTER  IV.  69 

they  must  be  made  the  subject  of  one  or  more  letters. 
After  which,  the  way  will  be  prepared  to  proceed  to 
some  other  important  subjects.  In  the  meanwhile, 
may  the  God  of  all  grace  send  down  upon  our  be- 
loved Church,  that  love  of  truth  and  of  peace  which 
we  so  much  need  I 

Princeton,  February  6,  1833. 


70  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 


LETTER  V. 

Voluntary  Associations,  and  Ecclesiastical  Boards 

Christian  Brethren, 

Having  endeavoured  in  the  preceding  letter  to 
show  that  the  arguments  usually  urged  in  favour  of 
confining  the  enterprises  of  Christian  benevolence  to 
Voluntary  Associations  are  essentially  unsound;  I 
propose  in  the  present  letter  to  proceed  one  step  fur- 
ther, and  to  show  that  it  is  plainly  the  duty  of  the 
Churchy  in  her  ecclesiastical  capacity,  to  undertake  and 
conduct  such  enterprises^  nay,  that  when  she  neglects  to 
do  so,  she  is  guilty  of  great  injustice  to  herself  and  of 
direct  disobedience  to  her  divine  Head  and  Lord. 

That  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Church,  in  her  appro- 
priate capacity,  to  be  much  occupied  in  works  of 
Christian  benevolence,  and  in  particular,  to  engage 
in  the  work  of  evangelizing  the  world,  and  of  select- 
ing and  training  up  the  best  agents  she  can  find  for 
that  purpose,  may  be  clearly  demonstrated,  as  it  ap- 
pears to  me,  by  the  following  considerations. 

1.    It  is  the  COMMANDED    AND  APPROPRIATE  WORK    OF 

THE  CHURCH  to  maintain  in  its  purity;  to  press  on 
the  hearts  and  consciences  of  men  for  their  sanctifi- 
cation;  and  to  propagate  as  far  as  she  has  power,  the 
religion  of  Jesus  Christ.  For  this  she  was  constitu- 
ted to  be  a  depository  of  truth,  a  witness  for  God,  and 
a  blessing  to  the  world.  Others  may  exert  them- 
selves, and  ought  to  exert  themselves,  for  evangelizing 
the  nations;  but  she  must  do  it,  or  disobey  her  Master 


LETTER  V.  71 

in  heaven.  Assemblages  of  individuals,  either  not 
belonging  to  the  Church  in  any  of  its  departments,  or 
belonging  to  different  departments  of  it,  may  take 
measures  for  sending  the  Gospel  to  those  who  have 
it  not^  and  the  Church  may  not  discountenance  or  op- 
pose their  proceedings;  but  ought  rather  to  rejoice 
that  by  any  means  Christ  is  preached.  But  whatever 
others  may  do,  or  leave  undone,  she  is  bound  in  her 
ecclesiastical  capacity,  to  let  the  Gospel  sound  out 
in  its  purity  and  power,  from  all  her  borders.  To 
neglect  this,  is  to  neglect  one  of  the  great  purposes 
for  which  the  Church  was  founded  in  this  world  of 
error  and  of  sin.  What  are  all  her  government  and 
discipline  and  ordinances  worth,  if  not  employed  in 
bearing  testimony  against  Satan's  kingdom  and  iu 
building  up  and  extending  the  kingdom  of  the  Re- 
deemer? 

To  say,  then,  that  the  Church  in  her  ecclesiastical 
capacity,  is  bound  to  maintain  the  ordinances  of  re- 
ligion within  her  bosom,  and  to  sustain  discipline  in 
its  purity  in  all  her  borders;  but  that  she  ought  to 
leave  to  Voluntary  Societies  the  work  of  evangelizing 
the  world — is,  in  other  words,  saying,  that  she  ought 
to  resign  into  other  hands,  as  not  her  appropriate 
work,  one  of  the  most  undoubted  and  important  of 
all  the  trusts  which  her  Almighty  Head  has  commit- 
ted to  her  and  commanded  her  to  discharge  1 

2.  It  may  be  urged,  as  an  important  argument  in 
favour  of  our  ecclesiastical  judicatories,  as  such, 
being  engaged  in  the  great  work  of  spreading  the 

Gospel,  THAT  THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  THOSE  JUDICATO- 
RIES AFFORDS  A  CHARACTERISTIC  AND  PECULIAR  FACI- 
LITY FOR  PURSUING  THIS  OBJECT.  In  Congregational 
churches,  there  seems  to  be  no  possible  method  of 


72  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

combining  their  strength  for  the  pursuit  of  any  com- 
mon object,  but  by  resorting  to  Voluntary  Associa-- 
tions.  No  wonder,  then,  that  those  who  prefer  this' 
form  of  church  government,  and  especially  those 
who  have  no  other  form  within  their  reach,  should 
contend  zealously  for  such  associations,  as  alone 
adapted  to  the  work  of  combined  and  active  benevo- 
lence. And  to  this  source,  perhaps,  in  part,  we  may 
trace  the  zeal  of  some  brethren  on  this  subject. 
But,  surely,  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  the  different 
portions  of  the  whole  body  are  bound  together,  and 
brought  together,  at  stated  periods,  by  an  organiza- 
tion at  once  the  most  complete,  energetic  and  con- 
venient that  can  well  be  conceived.  Our  Presbyte- 
ries^ convening  a  number  of  times  every  year;  our 
Synods^  coming  together  at  least  annually,  and  em- 
bracing a  larger  number  of  ministers  and  delegates; 
and  our  General  Assembly^  binding  the  whole  body 
in  authority  and  counsel,  and  meeting  every  year  not 
only  for  advice,  but  also  for  final  adjudication  in  all 
questions  of  faith  and  order; — all  furnish  the  best  fa- 
cilities that  can  be  imagined  for  the  united  and  vi- 
gorous co-operation  of  the  whole  Church  in  any 
great  object.  Ought  not  such  a  facility  to  be  faith- 
fully improved.^  When  we  have  the  machinery  al- 
ready for  accomplishing  work  of  the  most  important 
Jcind,  ought  it  to  be  unemployed? 

3.  When  Ecclesiastical  Bodies  are  busily  and  ear- 
nestly engaged  in  endeavouring  to  send  the  glorious 
gospel  "  to  every  creature,"  they  are  employed  in 

THAT  SPECIES  OF  WORK  WHICH,  OF  ALL  OTHERS,  IS  PER- 
HAPS    THE     BEST      ADAPTED     TO    PROMOTE     THEIR     OWN 

SPIRITUAL  BENEFIT.    WhcH  judicatorics  of  the  Church 
are   occupied,  as  they  are  often  called  in  the  sove- 


LETTER    V.  73 

reign  providence  of  God  to  be,  in  trying  offenders;  in 
examining  testimony;  in  deciding  appeals  and  com- 
plaints; and  in  adjusting  painful  differences;  it  cannot 
be  said,  indeed,  to  be  a  useless  occupation;  for,  how- 
ever irksome,  it  is  indispensable,  and  often  eminently 
useful,  as  one  of  the  means  of  grace.  Still  the  im- 
mediate bearing  of  such  work  on  the  spiritual  benefit 
of  those  who  perform  it,  is  not  always  obvious;  and 
it  sometimes  proves  a  severe  trial  to  their  faith  and 
patience.  But  when  either  the  whole  Church,  of  any 
particular  denomination,  acting  by  her  representa- 
tives, or  any  subordinate  judicatory  belonging  to  the 
whole  body,  addresses  herself  to  the  hallowed  work 
of  sending  the  Gospel  to  those  who  are  "  perishing 
for  lack  of  vision;"  when  she  calls  into  fervent  exer- 
cise that  "  charity  which  seeketh  not  her  own,"  and 
labours  for  the  advancement  of  the  Redeemer's  king- 
dom, and  the  welfare  of  immortal  souls;  v/hen  she 
pities  those  who  are  suffering  a  spiritual  famine,  and 
expends  her  resources  in  sending  them  the  bread  and 
the  waters  of  life;  she  is,  undoubtedly,  employed  in 
that  way  which  is  best  adapted  to  promote  her  own  spi- 
ritual benefit;  to  draw  down  upon  herself  the  blessing 
of  her  divine  Head;  and  to  call  into  exercise  all  those 
graces  in  which  the  true  glory  of  a  Church  consists. 
If  I  were  consulted  by  a  Church  struggling  with  po- 
verty, labouring  under  the  most  deplorable  moral 
torpor,  and  torn  with  divisions,  and  asked  what  she 
had  best  do  to  increase  her  strength,  to  rouse  her 
energies,  and  to  bind  her  contending  parties  together 
in  holy  love;  among  other  things,  I  would  say  to  her, 
"  Begin  without  delay  to  plan,  and  labour,  and  pray, 
and  contribute  for  sending  the  Gospel  abroad  to  your 
fellow  men.     Endeavour   to  engage  every  heart  and 

G 


74  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

every  hand,  from  the  hoary  head  to  lisping  infancy; 
in  this  noble  work.  Make  the  experiment;  and  if 
you  do  it  from  proper  motives,  and  in  good  earnest^ 
amidst  your  poverty,  you  will  be  enriched;  amidst 
your  feebleness,  you  will  be  strengthened;  amidst 
your  divisions,  you  will  be  united;  amidst  your 
coldness  and  languor,  you  will  be  roused  to  feeling, 
and  vital  warmth,  and  affection,  and  vigour,  and 
sacred  enterprise  in  the  service  of  your  Master.  In 
short,  the  more  it  is  in  your  hearts  to  feel  and  pray 
and  labour  for  the  everlasting  welfare  of  others,  the 
more  you  will  draw  down  the  blessing  of  God  on 
yourselves,  the  more  you  will  promote  your  own 
growth  in  those  things  in  which  the  essence  of  reli- 
gion consists.  Those  who  water  others,  shall  be 
watered  themselves.  '  It  is  more  blessed  to  give 
than  to  receive;'  since  the  act  of  giving  with  a 
proper  spirit,  imparts  a  double  benefit.  While  it  is 
the  performance  of  a  duty,  and  the  conferring  of  a 
benefit  on  others,  it  includes  at  the  same  time  in  its 
very  nature,  the  reception  of  a  blessing  ourselves." 

The  same  counsel,  if  consulted,  would  I  give  to 
every  judicatory  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  I 
would  say  to  every  such  judicatory,  "  Neglect  not 
the  various  cases  of  ecclesiastical  '  process,'  which 
may  occur  in  the  faithful  exercise  of  discipline. 
Imagine  not,  because  this  part  of  your  work  is  always 
painful,  and  sometimes  agitating,  that  therefore,  it  is 
not  one  of  the  most  important  means  of  grace,  or 
that  it  oughf  to  be  avoided.  Although,  like  the  trial 
of  offenders,  and  the  execution  of  justice,  in  civil 
society,  it  as  an  unwelcome  task,  and  often  deeply 
distressing;  still  it  is  indispensable  to  the  order, 
purity   and    happiness   of  the   social    system.     But 


LETTER  V.  75 

while  you  are  careful  not  to  undervalue  or  shun  the 
work  of  government  and  discipline,  ever  remember 
that  this  work  is  to  be  pursued  as  a  means^  not  as  an 
end.  Be  not  content  to  come  together  from  time  to 
time  merely  or  even  chiejiy,  to  adjust  forms,  to  balance 
testimony,  and  to  measure  the  extent  and  the  dura- 
tion of  ecclesiastical  penalties.  This  is  necessary 
work;  but  they  are  not  your  friends  who  would  con- 
fiie  you  to  such  work.  See  that  it  be  all  made  sub- 
servient at  every  step,  to  the  great  object  of  all 
Christian  effort,  which  is  to  edify  and  extend  the  Re- 
deemer's kingdom.  Let  the  great  work  of  doing  good 
be  your  chosen  employment.  Never  come  together 
without  having  your  meeting  marked  by  some  plan 
and  effort  for  sending  the  knowledge  of  the  *  great 
salvation,'  to  the  benighted  and  the  perishing.  This 
will  warm  your  hearts.  This  will  purify  and  elevate 
your  affections.  This  will  bind  you  together  as  one 
body  in  love.  This  will,  more  than  almost  any  other 
work  in  which  you  can  engage,  draw  down  the  spirit 
and  the  consolations  of  Christ  into  the  midst  of  your 
assemblies,  and  cause  you  to  retire  from  them  as 
from  a  feast  of  Christian  feeling.  Can  you  consent, 
then,  to  resign  to  other  hands  a  species  of  work  so 
peculiarly  adapted  to  make  you  doubly  blessed?  Can 
you  consent  to  consider  as  unfit  for  Ecclesiastical 
Judicatories  that  hallowed  employment  which  is  of 
all  others  the  most  appropriate  and  precious;  which 
pre-eminently  belongs  to  them;  and  to  which  every 
other  ought  to  be  regarded  as  tributary?  To  yield 
to  such  counsels  appears  to  me  the  greatest  of  all  in- 
fatuation. Let  as  many  bodies  as  possible,  by  what- 
ever name  they  may  be  called,  engage  with  zeal  in 
the  blessed  work  of  evangelizing  the  world, '  no  man 


76  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

forbidding  ihemj'  nay,  by  whomsoever  the  real  Gos- 
pel is  sent  to  a  world  '  lying  in  wickedness,'  let 
every  one  '  bid  them  God  speed;'  but  of  all  bodies 
in  the  world  let  not  Ecclesiastical  Judicatories  neglect 
or  omit  that  work  which  is  their  primary  duty;  the 
most  delightful  of  all  employments;  and  that  which  is 
most  adapted  to  build  them  up  in  holiness  and  love." 

In  perfect  harmony  with  the  foregoing  counsels,  I 
cannot  forbear  to  quote  the  following  paragraphs,  by 
a  learned  and  eloquent  Presbyterian  divine  of  Europe, 
found  in  a  discourse  recently  delivered  on  a  public 
occasion,  and  bearing  marks  throughout,  of  much 
judgment,  and  of  ardent  piety. 

"  The  first  concern  of  the  Church,  no  doubt,  is  the 
edification  of  its  own  members.  But  a  concern  for 
others  is  not  only  a  duty  required  of  the  Church,  but 
the  faithful  discharge  of  it  ministers  to  its  own  edifi- 
cation. It  is  placed  in  the  world  as  a  missionary  es- 
tablishment,  required  to  look  narrowly  into  the  purity 
and  advancement  of  its  own  members,  but  at  the 
same  time  to  consider  the  world  as  its  charge,  and 
to  labour  for  its  evangelization.  This  missionary 
spirit  was  a  distinguishing  feature  of  the  primitive 
churches.  They  received  a  command  to  ^  go  into 
all  the  world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  crea- 
ture,' which  they  understood  literally,  and  obeyed 
vigorously.  In  their  assemblies  for  worship,  the 
conversion  of  the  world  was  a  prominent  feature  in 
their  prayers,  and  their  sincerity  was  evinced  by  wise 
and  vigorous  measures  for  carrying  the  object  of 
their  supplications  into  effect.  As  long  as  the  mis- 
sionary spirit  lasted  in  the  Church,  the  Christian 
spirit  was  cherished  by  it.  Those  who  '  watered 
others,'  were  *  themselves   watered.'     While  there 


LETTER    V.  V7 

was  zeal  and  exertion  for  extending  the  Gospel 
abroad,  there  v/as  peace  and  purity  at  home.  Not 
merely  did  this  result  from  the  blessing  of  God;  but 
it  is  easy  to  show  how  the  zealous  labour  of  the 
Church  for  the  extending  the  truth,  is,  more  than  any 
thing  beside,  conducive  to  its  own  edification.  Hereby 
all  its  energies  are  engaged.  There  is  no  time  to 
spare  for  dissentions  and  trifles.  There  is,  indeed, 
no  taste  for  them;  for  all  are  so  absorbed  in  one  great 
object,  that  with  one  heart,  and  one  hand,  they  strive 
together  for  its  attainment.  If  there  is  one  cause 
more  than  another,  to  which  we  would  trace  the 
decay  of  religion  in  the  Church,  it  is  that  the  mis- 
sionary spirit  became  cold,  and  missionary  labour 
feeble.  And  when  at  length,  this  pulse  ceased  to 
beat,  the  body  became  one  mass  of  corruption.  The 
living  spirit  of  the  Church  seemed  to  depart,  v/hen 
its  missionary  zeal  expired;  and  thenceforward  it 
became  the  subject  of  error  and  dissention,  and  every 
evil  work. 

"  In  our  own  times,  when  religion  seems  to  be  re- 
viving, it  is  easy  to  trace  along  with  it  the  revival  of 
the  missionary  spirit,  and  to  see  their  close  connex- 
ion and  mutual  dependence.  The  late  revival  of  reli- 
gion in  these  countries  commenced  with  missionary 
labour.  Just  as  the  young  convert  when  he  has 
learned  the  truth  himself,  burns  with  zeal  to.  declare 
it  to  others;  so  the  Church,  as  soon  as  the  spirit  of 
religion  revives  in  it,  looks  out  to  others,  and  offers 
its  missionary  services  to  them.  The  state  of  mis- 
sionary labour  in  these  times  is,  indeed,  very  peculiar. 
It  is  the  offering  of  Voluntary  Associations,  rather 
than  of  the  Christian  Churches.  This  fact  merely 
proves  that  the  Church  had  fallen  far  from  a  due 
G  2 


78  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

sense  of  its  duty  in  this  matter;  that  it  ceased  to  be 
in  a  capacity  to  discharge  it;  and  that  its  lack  of 
service  required  to  be  otherwise  supplied.  One 
blessed  effect  of  these  societies,  however,  will  be,  that 
besides  doing  much  positive  good  to  the  world,  they 
will  bring  back  the  church  to  a  due  sense  and  faith- 
ful discharge  of  its  duty.  This  has  in  part  appeared 
already,  and  we  have  seen  only  the  beginning."* 

4.  The  duty  and  importance  of  Ecclesiastical  Ju- 
dicatories, as  such,  engaging  with  zeal  in  the  mis- 
sionary enterprise,  is  manifest /ro7n /Ae  security  to hich 
their  agency  affords  that  "  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the 
p,aints^^  ivill  he  maintained  and  transmitted  in  some 
degree  of  purity. 

When  voluntary,  and  of  course,  irresponsible  asso- 
ciations, engage  in  the  great  work  of  evangelizing 
the  world,  having  no  other  bond  of  union  than  the 
common  sentiments,  and  the  warm  feelings  which 
originally  prompted  them  to  associate,  there  is  no 
security  that  they  will  continue  either  to  receive  or  to 
propagate  the  pure  Gospel.  Such  bodies  may  com- 
mence their  operations  with  as  much  attachment  to 
truth,  and  as  sincere  a  disposition  to  maintain  and 
extend  it,  as  any  Ecclesiastical  Body  in  the  world; 
but  having  no  confession  of  faith,  no  acknowledged 
standards,  in  conformity  with  which  they  pledge 
themselves  to  conduct  their  ministrations;  and  as  all 
sorts  of  religionists  niay  become  members  of  such 
bodies  who  choose  to  do  so;  what  is  to  prevent  them 


*  "  The  Foundation,  Character,  and  Security  of  the  Christian 
Church,"  a  sermon  preached  before  the  General  Synod  of 
Ulster,  Ireland,  at  Monaghan,  26th  June,  1832.  .  By  the  Rev. 
James  Morgan,  of  Belfast. 


LETTER   V.  79 

from  gradually  and  even  speedily  degenerating  into  as- 
sociations, who  agree  in  nothing  but  in  a  warm  desire 
to  send  out  missionaries;  who  may  be  prompted  to 
do  this,  in  the  strange  and  wayward  course  of  human 
affairs  by  motives  far  from  being  worthy  of  com- 
mendation; and  who,  of  course,  ???«?/  exert  an  influ- 
ence deeply  hostile  to  the  spread  of  true  religion? 
It  is  true,  Ecclesiastical  Bodies  may  also  swerve  from 
their  original  character,  and  have  swerved  in  the 
same  way.  Still  it  cannot  be  denied  that  there  are 
sources  of  security  in  the  case  of  the  latter,  which 
do  not  exist,  in  the  same  degree,  with  respect  to  the 
former;  and  consequently,  that  the  existence  of  Ec- 
clesiastical Boards  at  the  same  time,  and  in  the  same 
country  with  Voluntary  Associations;  ought  to  be 
desired  by  every  friend  of  evangelical  truth,  as  one  of 
the  best  means  within  our  reach  of  maintaining  the 
Gospel  in  its  purity  and  power. 

To  illustrate  my  meaning.  The  American  Home 
Missionary  Society,  which  has  now  been  in  existence 
a  little  more  than  six  years,  and  which  is  formed  by 
the  adherents  of  four  or  five  different  religious  deno- 
minations, is  now,  perhaps,  and  has  been  during  the 
short  period  of  its  history,  as  orthodox  as  any  Volun- 
tary Association  in  the  land.  A  degree  of  attach- 
ment to  the  fundamental  principles  of  Gospel  truth, 
and  of  fervent  zeal  for  spreading  it  as  widely  as  pos- 
sible, truly  commendable,  has,  doubtless,  been  mani- 
fested in  their  proceedings.  No  departure  from  the 
spirit  of  their  original  association,  so  far  as  I  know, 
has  been  charged  against  them.  Yet  we  all  know 
that  they  have  no  public  standards  to  which  they  en- 
gage to  be  conformed.  They  have  no  confession  of 
faith;   no  ecclesiastical  responsibility.      They  may 


80  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

deviate  greatly  and  grievously,  from  the  purity  of  the 
Gospel;  and  if  this  should  ever  occur,  there  will  be 
no  other  power  than  the  vague  and  ever  varying 
power  of  public  sentiment  to  call  them  to  account, 
or  to  arrest  their  wayward  career.  A  majority  of 
the  members  of  that  body,  now  so  truly  worthy  of 
our  good  wishes  and  prayers  may^  in  less  than  ten 
years,  become  so  thoroughly  Arminian,  or  even  Pe- 
lagian, as  to  be  an  offence  to  all  the  enlightened 
friends  of  Zion,  and  really  a  curse  instead  of  a  bless- 
ing. What  is  there  to  prevent  such  a  deviation? 
What  to  check  it?  Nothing  but  the  sentiments  and 
feelings,  for  the  time  being,  of  the  scattered  members, 
who  may  assemble  once  a  year,  and  choose  an  Exe- 
cutive Committee,  who  may  gradually  become  parti- 
sans of  error,  and  even  of  essential  error;  and  at 
length  send  forth  none  but  missionaries  of  destruc- 
tive heresy.  I  have  no  apprehension,  indeed,  that 
such  will  be  the  result.  My  hope  is  that  the  Society 
will  long  continue,  as  she  has  heretofore  done,  to  em- 
ploy pious  and  faithful  men,  in  whose  ministry  the 
friends  of  Zion  will  have  reason  to  rejoice.  But  one 
of  the  very  best  securities,  under  God,  that  this  will 
be  the  case,  is  found  in  my  opinion,  in  the  existence 
and  influence  of  Ecclesiastical  Boards,  engaged  in 
the  same  benevolent  works,  who,  if  they  degenerate 
from  the  truth  at  all,  will  be  apt  to  degenerate  more 
slowly  than  Voluntary  Associations,  from  the  circum- 
stance of  their  being  guided  and  restrained  by  public 
formularies.  The  reflex  influence  of  these,  on  sur- 
rounding Voluntary  Associations,  in  holding  up  the 
banner  of  truth,  and  in  constantly  sounding  the  voice 
of  warning  against  error,  can  scarcely  fail  of  being 
both  potent  and  salutary. 


LETTER  V.  8  I 

Upon  the  principle,  then,  of  sincere  friendship  to 
the  Home  Missionary  Society,  and  to  all  the  Evan- 
gelical Voluntary  Associations  in  the  land,  I  am  a 
warm  advocate  for  the  continued  existence  and  effi- 
ciency of  Ecclesiastical  Boards.  Let  them  be  sus- 
tained with  increasing'  vigour.  They  will  not  only 
do  great  good  by  their  direct  agency  in  extending  the 
Redeemer's  kingdom;  but  they  will  exert  a  benign 
influence  on  other  bodies,  not  ecclesiastical,  by  sti- 
mulating their  zeal;  by  holding  up  to  their  view 
standards  of  truth — by  warning  them  against  error; 
by  contributing  to  purify  and  regulate  public  senti- 
ment; and  thus  to  put  as  far  off  as  possible  that  pre- 
vailing corruption  into  which  every  thing  committed 
to  human  management,  even  with  the  best  guards 
that  can  be  employed,  is  so  prone  to  degenerate.  I 
have  no  hesitation  in  saying,  that  every  vigorous  and 
faithfully  maintained  Ecclesiastical  Board  in  the 
United  States,  furnishes  a  powerful  guarantee,  for 
which  every  friend  of  religion  ought  to  be  thankful, 
that  our  Voluntary  Associations,  will  be  longer  pure, 
more  wisely  and  prudently  active,  and  of  course, 
more  extensively  useful,  than  they  would  be  likely  to 
be  if  those  Boards  should  be  now  abolished. 

The  foregoing  considerations,  my  Christian  bre- 
thren, satisfy  me  that,  on  the  one  hand,  those  who 
denounce  Voluntary  Associations,  and  wish  to  put 
them  down,  as  ineligible  and  dangerous  means  of 
promoting  the  great  cause  of  religion;  and  those,  on 
the  other,  who  would  throw  the  ivliole  work  of  doing 
good  exclusively  into  their  hands — are  both  wrong;— 
unhappily  wrong; — mischievously  wrong.  I  say  this 
with  sincere  respect  for  those  brethren  who  think 
otherwise;  but  with  a  confidence  which  is  every  day 


83  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

becoming  stronger.  For  my  part,  I  dare  not  oppose 
Voluntary  Associations,  as  such.  They  may^  indeed, 
be  perverted.  They  may  be  employed,  by  designing 
men,  as  instruments  of  sinister  purpose.  But  so 
may  the  best  things.  The  abuse  of  a  thing,  we  all 
know,  is  no  valid  argument  against  its  legitimate  use. 
When  Voluntary  Associations  assume  improper 
ground,  or  resort  to  improper  means,  let  them  be  re- 
buked, and  the  Christian  public  warned  against  the 
danger.  But  in  this  day  of  abounding  Voluntary 
Associations,  for  almost  every  purpose  of  knowledge 
or  of  benevolent  action,  I  cannot  doubt  that  they  may 
be  safely  and  efficiently  employed  in  the  great  work 
of  promoting  religion.  In  fighting  against  them, 
therefore,  I  should  be  afraid  of  being  "  found  fighting 
against  God." 

But  on  the  other  hand,  I  dare  not  oppose,  or  even 
neglect  to  promote  the  formation  of  Ecclesiastical 
Boards  for  the  same  great  purpose.  If  the  Church, 
in  her  appropriate  character,  is  not  employed  in  the 
great  work  of  extending  the  Redeemer's  kingdom, 
she  neglects,  as  has  been  said,  a  primary  and  essential 
design  of  her  institution.  If  her  judicatories,  every 
time  they  come  together,  do  not  make  the  spread  of 
the  glorious  Gospel,  one  main  object  of  their  coun- 
sels, prayers  and  efforts,  they  neglect  one  of  the  most 
powerful  means  of  warming,  elevating  and  enriching 
their  own  souls,  and  of  drawing  down  the  most  pre- 
cious blessings  on  the  body,  which  they  represent. 
Nay,  if  the  Church  supinely  allows  herself  to  fail  of 
lifting  the  standard  of  missionary  zeal  and  enterprise, 
— there  is  absolutely  less  security  than  there  would 
be,  if  she  did  her  duty  in  this  respect— that  the  Vo- 
luntary Associations  around  her  will  continue  faith- 


LETTER  V.  83 

ful  to  the  principles  with  which   they  set  out,  and 
thus  prove  a  permanent  blessing  to  the  world. 

It  was  from  the  combined  force  of  all  the  forego- 
ing considerations  that  I  was  induced,  more  than  a 
year  ago,  to  express  an  opinion  favourable  to  the  for- 
mation of  the  "Western  Foreign  Missionary  Soci- 
etyj"  a  society  formed  within  the  bounds  of  the  Sy- 
nod of  Pittsburgh^  under  the  auspices  of  that  bodyj 
having  as  its  formal  patrons,  all  the  Presbyteries 
composing  that  Synod,  together  with  some  Presbyte- 
ries belonging  to  other  Synods.  In  taking  this  course, 
I  was  not  influenced  by  the  smallest  diminution  of 
confidence  in  the  "American  Board  of  Commission- 
ers of  Foreign  Missions."  On  the  contrary,  I  am 
persuaded  that  there  is  no  association  on  earth  the 
whole  affairs  of  which  are  conducted  with  more  wis- 
dom, piety,  diligence,  and  fidelity,  than  those  of  that 
Boardj  and  none  more  worthy  of  the  entire  confi- 
dence of  the  Christian  community.  But  when  it  was 
represented  that  there  was  a  missionary  spirit  rising 
within  the  bounds  of  the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh^  that  a 
number  of  the  leading  ministers  and  elders  of  that 
body  were  animated  with  a  strong  desire  to  engage 
in  this  hallowed  enterprise,*  that  they  were  entirely 
satisfied  that  the  great  majority  of  the  churches 
within  their  bounds  could  not  be  made  to  feel  so 
strongly,  to  pray  so  fervently,  or  to  give  so  liberally 
to  any  other  Board,  as  to  one  within  their  own  bounds, 
of  their  own  religious  denomination,  and  conducted 
by  individuals  of  their  own  acquaintance; — when 
these  facts  were  alleged  and  believed  to  be  true — I 
for  one,  could  not  find  in  m.y  heart  to  discourage  the 
undertaking.  I  became  convinced  that  by  their 
going  forward,  a  much  larger  amount  of  missionary 


84  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

interest  and  zeal  would  be  called  into  exercise  than 
by  attempting  to  rally  all  their  churches  round  the 
American  Board.  I  was  satisfied,  too,  that  if  this 
plan  were  prosecuted,  the  American  Board  herself 
would  not  find  less  fi-iendship,  or  less  patronage,  even 
in  the  western  country,  than  she  now  does,  but  pro- 
bably much  more.  Of  course  I  could  not  doubt,  that, 
on  the  whole,  more  missionary  work  would  be  done, 
and  a  greater  amount  of  moral  good  effected  by  en- 
gaging in  the  proposed  enterprise,  than  if  the  whole 
field  were  left  open  to  the  American  Board,  without 
a  competitor,  and  under  every  possible  advantage. 

It  is  possible  that  these  views  may  not  be  realized. 
But  it  was  under  their  influence  that  the  plan  was 
enterprised,  and  as  long  as  they  were  sincerely  adopt- 
ed by  the  brethren  in  that  region,  and  by  others 
whom  they  consulted,  could  they  conscientiously 
have  acted  otherwise?  Would  it  have  been  v-'ise; 
would  it  have  been  a  dictate  of  the  most  expanded 
Christian  charity,  to  say  to  hundreds  of  their  pious 
church  members — "Your  preference  for  a  board  of 
your  own  must  not  be  indulged.  If  you  are  not 
ready  to  pour  all  your  contributions  into  the  treasury 
of  the  American  Board,  we  do  not  wish  you  to  con- 
tribute at  all  to  the  foreign  missionary  cause?"  I 
need  not  wait  for  an  answer.  I  am  sure  there  is  not 
a  single  member  of  the  American  Board  itself  so 
narrow  and  exclusive  in  his  zeal,  as  to  be  willing  to 
speak  thus.  They  v/ould,  as  individuals,  and  as  a 
body,  with  one  voice  condemn  such  a  reply.  I  can 
speak  for  one.  My  attachment  to  that  Board,  as  one 
of  its  members,  was  never  stronger  than  it  is  at  the 
present  moment;  and  my  determination,  by  all  the 
means  in  my  power,  to  promote  its  interests,  is  every 


LETTER  V.  85 

tlay  becoming  more  deeply  fixed  and  unwavering. 
Yet  if  more  missionary  zeal  can  be  roused,  more 
money  collected,  and  more  missionaries  engaged  to 
go  to  the  heathen,  by  forming  a  Presbyterian  Board, 
and  opening  a  new  treasury — I  am  ready  to  say,  let 
it  be  done. 

The  probability  is,  that  the  "Western  Foreign 
Missionary  Society"  will  not  be  placed  under  the  di- 
rection of  the  General  Assembly,  or  attempt  any  re- 
sort to  that  body  for  patronage.  It  would  be  un- 
wise and  unhappy  to  introduce  into  the  highest  judi- 
catory of  the  church,  another  subject  of  party  jea- 
lousy, and  party  contention.  Such  portions  of  the 
Church  that  feel  friendly  to  its  existence,  and  willing 
to  make  efforts  for  its  support,  will  of  course,  yield 
it  their  patronage,  without  impeaching  the  motives 
of  those  who  may  choose  to  act  otherwise^  and  with- 
out the  least  unfriendly  feeling  toward  other  institu- 
tions. 

It  may  not  be  improper,  however,  to  take  a  passing 
notice  of  one  suggestion  which  has  been  publicly 
made.  It  is  this;  that  if  the  General  Assembly  of 
our  Church  should  institute  or  patronise  a  Presbyte- 
rian Board  for  foreign  missions  it  would  violate  a 
TREATY  with  the  American  Board.  This  is  an  entire 
mistake.  No  such  treaty  exists,  or  was  ever  made. 
The  General  Assembly  was  one  of  the  three  ecckbl- 
astical  bodies  which  consented  to  the  dissolution  of 
the  old  "United  Foreign  Missionary  Societv',"  and 
to  the  transfer  of  all  its  stations,  property  and  debts 
(which  debts  were  just  about  covered  by  the  property 
transferred  with  them)  to  the  American  Board.  This 
consent  was  accompanied  by  a  recommendation  of 
the  Board  to  the   friendship  and  patronage  of  our 


86  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

churches.  A  year  or  two  after  this  transfer  was 
effected,  a  proposal  was  privately  made  by  some 
friends  of  the  American  Board,  that  the  General 
Assembly  should  pass  a  solemn  act,  binding  itself, 
or  at  least,  resolving,  not  to  undertake  any  separate 
foreign  missionary  enterprise.  This  proposal,  how- 
'  ever,  was  firmly  resisted,  and  no  such  stipulation  or 
resolution  was  ever  adopted.  At  the  last  General 
Assembly,  when  a  report  was  brought  in  from  a 
joint  Committee  of  the  Assembly  and  the  American 
Board,  which  recommended  that  the  former  should 
not  separately  engage  in  the  work  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions, the  Assembly  declined  expressing  any  opinion, 
or  giving  any  pledge  on  the  subject,  and  again  re- 
commended the  American  Board  "  to  the  affection 
and  patronage  of  our  churches."  The  truth  is,  the 
General  Assembly  has  never,  directly  or  indirectly 
stipulated  with  the  American  Board  not  to  under- 
take any  separate  missionary  enterprise,  nor  made 
any  engagement  which  can  be  considered  as  suscepti- 
ble of  this  construction.  Just  as  reasonably  might 
it  be  alleged  that  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church,  or 
the  Associate  Reformed  Church  (the  two  other  Ec- 
clesiastical Bodies  which  gave  their  consent  to  the 
transfer  above  stated)  were  barred  by  "  treaty"  not 
to  engage  in  the  missionary  cause  in  their  ecclesias- 
tical capacity. 

On  the  whole  my  firm  hope  is,  that  the  American 
Board,  with  the  wisdom  and  disinterestedness  of  an 
elder  sister,  will  look  upon  the  infant  Western  So- 
ciety with  an  eye  of  indulgent  affection,  and  treat  her 
with  sisterly  kindness;  imparting  to  her  the  lights 
of  her  longer  experience,  and  be  ever  ready  to  afford 
her  countenance  and  encouragement.     This  will  be 


LETTER   V.  87 

as  much  her  policy  as  her  duty.  On  the  other  hand, 
my  confident  expectation  is,  that  the  Western  So- 
ciety will  ever  regard  the  American  Board  with  ve- 
neration and  lovej  will  carefully  avoid  every  thing 
like  jealousy,  or  even  rivalshipj  will  honour  her  wis- 
dom and  fidelity;  will  endeavour  to  profit  by  her  no- 
ble example;  and  not  only  with  afi*ectionate  cordial- 
ity, yield  to  her  the  undisturbed  patronage  of  every 
church  which  may  prefer  her  agency,  but  also  en- 
courage her  to  glean  even  in  her  own  most  appro- 
priated harvest  fields.  It  will  be  a  blessing,  instead 
of  a  burden,  to  the  churches  of  the  west,  as  well  as  of 
the  east,  to  sustain  with  firmness  the  Western  So- 
ciety, and  at  the  same  time  to  give  more  than  ever 
to  the  American  Board.  If  this  should  not  be  found 
to  be  the  result,  I  shall  be,  in  common  with  many 
others,  equally  disappointed  and  grieved. 

Thus  it  appears,  my  Christian  brethren,  that,  from 
whatever  point  of  view  we  contemplate  this  whole 
subject,  we  are  led  to  the  same  results.  We  are 
taught  that  Judah  not  only  ought  not,  but  need  not 
vex  JEphrabn,  nor  Uphraim,  Judah.  That  Ecclesias- 
tical Boards  ought  not  to  cherish  a  hostile  feeling 
against  Voluntary  Associations,  as  long  as  they  move 
in  their  proper  sphere,  without  attempting  to  inter- 
fere with  denominational  bodies  or  interests;  but  are 
rather  bound  to  regard  them  as  invaluable  helpers  in 
the  great  work  of  doing  good.  And  that,  on  the 
other  hand.  Voluntary  Associations,  when  they  che- 
rish a  desire  either  to  depress  Ecclesiastical  Boards, 
or  to  bind  them  to  their  own  machinery,  take  a  view 
of  the  subject,  and  pursue  a  policy,  as  narrow  and 
unwise  as  it  is  mischievous,  ^^n  entire  separation^ 
and  a  friendly,  generous  competition,  form  the  true  po- 


88  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

licy  of  both.  If  they  cultivate  the  proper  spirit,  and 
pursue  the  proper  course,  they  will  be  greatly  quickened 
and  aided  by  the  operations  of  each  other;  and  a  much 
greater  amount  of  good  will  be  accomplished  by  the  har- 
monious agency  of  both,  than  could  possibly  be  done  by 
either,  standing  alone,  and  occupying  the  whole  fields 

Princeton^  February,  1833. 


LETTER  VI.  89 


LETTER  VI. 

Adherence  to  ovrr  Doctrinal  Standards. 

Christian  Brethren, 

I  NEED  not  say  to  any  attentive  observer  of  passing 
scenes,  that  the  subject  of  faithful  adherence  to  our 
doctrinal  standards  is  another  point,  which  stands 
essentially  connected  with  the  peace  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church.  On  this  subject,  therefore,  it  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  that  there  be  a  concurrence  of 
sentiment,  in  favour  of  some  rational  and  scriptural 
principles.  On  the  one  hand,  if  such  absolute  uni- 
formity in  the  mode  of  explaining  every  minute  de- 
tail of  truth,  be  contended  for,  with  the  rigour  which 
some  appear  to  consider  as  necessary;  if  men  are  to 
be  criminated,  and  subjected  to  discipline  for  not  ex- 
pounding every  doctrine  contained  in  the  Confession 
of  Faith,  in  the  same  precise  manner  with  every  other 
subscriber  who  has  gone  before  him; — the  Church 
must  inevitably  be  kept  in  a  state  of  constant  mutual 
crimination  and  conflict.  Quietness  and  peace  will 
be  out  of  the  question.  On  the  other  hand,  if  all 
sorts  of  unscriptural  opinion,  except  the  extreme  of 
heresy,  should  be  freely  countenanced  by  any  of  our 
judicatories;  if  that  refusal  to  censure  any  form  of 
doctrinal  error,  short  of  palpable  Unitarianism, 
which  would  seem  to  be  the  plan  of  some  brethren, 
should  be  adopted  as  the  prevalent  policy,  it  will  be 
impossible  much  longer  to  keep  the  Church  together. 
Or  rather,  it  will  not,  much  longer,  be  worth  keeping 
together.  For  it  will  cease  to  be  what  the  Church 
H  2 


90  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

was  constituted  and  intended  to  be,  from  the  beg^in- 
ning,  a  "witness  for  God,"  in  the  midst  of  a  cor- 
rupt and  ungodly  world j — a  witness  for  the  truth  as 
well  as  the  order  of  his  family.  If  we  cannot  adopt 
some  course  between  these  ruinous  extremes,  and 
with  a  spirit  of  mutual  affection  and  accommodation, 
walk  in  it,  there  is  an  end  of  our  long  cherished 
union.  We  must  be  torn  in  sunder  and  scattered  to 
the  winds. 

On  this  deeply  interesting,  this  vital  subject,  allow 
me,  then,  to  offer  a  few  fraternal  remarks.  If  I  do 
not  entirely  mistake,  they  are  conceived,  and  will  be 
expressed,  in  that  spirit  of  conciliation  and  Christian 
love,  which  it  is  my  wish  to  cherish,  and  to  recom- 
mend to  all  whom  I  address. 

It  is  well  known,  that  when  ministers  are  ordained 
in  the  Presbyterian  Church;  or  when  those  who  are 
already  ordained  are  received  into  our  body,  from 
other  denominations,  they  are  called  upon  to  give 
their  formal  and  solemn  assent,  among  others,  to  the 
following  questions. 

1.  "Do  you  believe  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments  to  be  the  word  of  God,  the  only  in- 
fallible rule  of  faith  and  practice?" 

2.  "Do  you  sincerely  receive  and  adopt  the  Con- 
fession of  Faith  of  this  Church,  as  containing  the  sys- 
tem of  doctrine  taught  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  ?" 

Here,  it  v/ill  be  observed,  the  Bible  is  declared  to 
be  THE  ONLY  infallible  RULE  OF  FAITH,  and  the  Con- 
fession of  Faith  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  is  recog- 
nised as  only  a  summary  or  compendious  view  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  members  of  that  Church  agree 
in  interpreting  the  Scriptures.  In  this  sense  only 
are  we  in  the  habit  of  calling  our  "  Confession  of 


LETTER  VI.  9  1 

Faith,"  and  "  Form  of  Government,"  our  ^^  ecclesiasti- 
cal standards."  Not  iiltimale  standaids  of  faith  and 
practice;  but  standards  or  tests,  for  ascertaining  the 
manner  in  which  we,  as  a  Church,  puofkss  to  inter- 
pret THE  Bible.  If  there  be  any  individuals,  then, 
in  our  body,  capable  of  saying;  or  thip.kin.u;  that  the 
Confession  of  Faith  "is  the  Presbyterian's  Bible,"  let 
them  seriously  pause,  and  ask,  whether  they  have 
ever  seen  and  read  this  formula?  aiul  if  they  have, 
whether  the  charge  of  deliberate  slander  does  not 
justly  lie  at  their  door? 

But  the  great  practical  question  which  I  wish  now 
particularly  to  discuss,  is,  how  is  this  public  sub- 
scription, or  assent  to  the  Confession  of  Faith,  to  be 
understood?  Is  it  to  be  considered  ys  precluding  all 
variety  of  opinion  whatever,  as  to  the  mode  of  ex- 
plaining any  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Confession?  Is 
it  the  design  of  this  subscription  to  secure  such  en- 
tire and  perfect  uniformity  in  the  manner  of  con- 
struing every  minute  article,  as  to  censure  and  ex- 
clude every  possible  diversity  of  exposition  on  any 
point?  To  expect  such  perfect  uniformity  among 
two  thousand  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  is  a  chimera. 
It  never  was  or  can  be  realized.  And  to  attempt  to 
enforce  such  a  principle,  would  be  worse  than  useless. 
It  is  well  known  that  the  divines  of  the  JVestminster 
Assembly,  v/ho  framed  and  adopted  the  Confession 
of  Faith  which  we  receive,  had  minor  differences 
among  themselves.  Some  of  them  were  Supra-lapsa- 
rians;  others  Suh-lapsarians;  and  a  third  class  had 
their  peculiar  views  respecting  reprobation^  and  also 
respecting  the  place  which  the  active  as  well  as  the 
passive  obedience  of  Christ  holds  in  tlie  Gospel  sys- 
tem.    Still  they  were  all  substantial  and  sincere  CaU 


92  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

vinistSy  and  framed  the  Confession  in  such  a  manner 
as  that  those  who  differed  in  respect  to  these  minor 
shades  of  opinion,  might  all  honesily  adopt  it.  It  is 
notorious,  too,  that  the  Calvinistic  members  of  the 
Synod  of  JDort  differed  among  themselves  in  regard 
to  some  minor  points,  particularly  with  regard  to  the 
extent  of  the  atonement;  but  they  were  unanimous  in 
that  thorough  condemnation  of  *Brminianism  which 
their  canons  contain.  It  is  also  equally  well  known, 
that  a  similar  diversity  of  views  in  relation  to  the 
modes  of  propounding  and  explaining  some  doc- 
trines, existed  in  the  old  Synod  of  Philadelphia^  at  the 
date  of  the  "Adopting  Act,"  in  1729.  Still,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  Westminster  Assembly,  and  the  Synod  of 
Dorty  they  were  all  substantial,  sincere  Calvinists; 
and,  therefore,  unanimously,  and  with  good  faith, 
subscribed  the  Creed  which  had  been  framed  by 
their  fathers  in  Europe,  more  than  seventy  years  be- 
fore. 

But  if  some  degree  of  diversity  in  the  modes  of 
representing  Gospel  truth,  must  be  expected  and  to- 
lerated in  a  large  ecclesiastical  connexion,  the  ques- 
tion arises,  hotv  far  can  this  diversity  be  allowed 
with  safety  to  proceed?  This  is,  undoubtedly,  a 
question  of  great  delicacy,  and  of  very  difficult  solu- 
tion;— but  not  more  difficult  than  many  other  practi- 
cal questions  relating  to  morals  and  religion.  We 
all  grant  that  even  real  Christians,  though  sincere, 
are  imperfect.  But  if  it  were  asked,  what  degree  of 
moral  imperfection  may  be  considered  as  consistent 
with  Christian  character?  I  presume  every  thinking 
man  would  find  himself  embarrassed  by  the  attempt 
to  draw  a  precise  line;  but  would  feel  quite  sure,  at 
the  same  time,  that  there  are  certain  forms  and  de- 


LETTER   VI.  93 

grees  of  moral  delinquency  which  must  inevitably  ex- 
clude him  in  whom  they  are  found  from  the  ranks  of 
professing  Christians.  So,  in  regard  to  the  form  of 
subscription  to  the  Confession  of  Faith,  it  is  believed 
that  few  fair  and  candid  minds  can  be  at  a  loss  to  de- 
cide how  it  ought  to  be  interpreted. 

If  the  question,  what  is  the  meaning  of  the  words, 
"the  system  of  doctrines  taught  in  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures," as  they  occur  in  the  formula  which  makes  a 
part  of  the  ordination  service,  were  submitted  to  any 
intelligent  and  impartial  jury  in  the  country^  to 
twelve  men  of  plain  common  sense,  who  had  never 
heard  of  the  subterfuges  and  refinements  of  modern 
subscribers  to  creeds, — I  cannot  doubt  that  they 
would  be  unanimous  in  their  verdict  wiihout  quit- 
ting their  seats.  They  would  naturally  decide  thus: 
"Since  the  primary  object  of  subscril/mg  an  ecclesi- 
astical creed  is  to  express  agreement  in  doctrinal  be- 
lief; since  the  manifest  design  of  tlie  Confession  of 
Faithof  the  Presbyterian  Church  is  to  maintain  what 
is  commonly  called  the  Calvinistk  system^  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  Socinian,  the  Arian,  the  Fclagian,  and  the 
Arminian  systems;  since  almost  every  j^oint  which 
distinguishes  these  several  forms  of  error  are  specifi- 
cally exposed,  disproved  and  rejected,  uiuler  one  or 
another  of  its  several  articles;  and  since  this  has, 
notoriously,  been  the  universal  understanding,  ever 
since  that  Confession  was  formed,  we  judge  that  no 
man  who  is  not  a  sincere  Calvinist^  that  is,  who  does 
not  ex  animo  receive  all  the  distinguishing  articles 
of  the  Calvinistic  system,  can  honestly  subscribe  it. 
We  do  not  suppose,  indeed,  that  among  those  who 
subscribe  that  formulary,  it  is  necessary,  in  order  to 
a  candid  subscription,  that  there  should  be  entire 


94  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

agreement  as  to  ^  every  jot  and  tittle'  in  the  mode 
of  explaining  every  doctrine  which  the  Confession 
contains;  but  we  cannot  resist  the  conclusion,  as  fair 
and  honourable  men,  that  unless  a  candidate  for  ad- 
mission does  really  believe  in  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity;  the  incarnation  and  true  Deity  of  Jesus 
Christ,  the  personality  and  Deity  of  the  Holy  Spirit; 
the  fall  and  entire  native  depravity  of  man  in  virtue 
of  a  connexion  with  Adam,  the  progenitor  of  our 
race;  the  vicarious  atoning  sacrifice  of  the  Redeem- 
er; justification  solely  on  account  of  the  righteous- 
ness of  Christ,  set  to  our  account,  and  made  ours  by 
faith;  sovereign  and  unconditional  personal  election 
to  eternal  life;  regeneration  and  sanctification  by  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  the  eternal  punishment  of 
the  impenitently  wicked,  Sec.  he;  unless  he  sincerely 
believes  all  these  and  the  essentially  allied  doctrines 
which  have  ever  been  considered  as  the  distinguish- 
ing features  of  the  Calvinistic  system,  and  believes 
them  in  substance,  as  they  are  laid  down  in  the  Con- 
fession, our  verdict  is,  that  he  cannot  honestly  sub- 
scribe it.  We  suppose,  indeed,  that  among  many 
hundred  sincere  and  candid  Calvinists  on  earth,  there 
will  ever  be  found  some  diversity  in  their  manner 
both  of  explaining  and  defending  these  doctrines, 
while  they  all  truly  and  steadfastly  hold  them:  but 
as  long  as  none  of  them  embrace  any  of  the  errors  to 
which  reference  has  just  been  made,  and  which  it 
was  the  special  design  of  the  Confession  to  exclude, 
we  judge  that  they  may  all  adopt  it  without  any 
breach  of  good  faith." 

Such,  I  do  believe,  would  be  the  verdict  of  any  can- 
did impartial  jury,  who  had  any  tolerable  acquaint- 
ance with  the  facts  in  the  case,  and  whose  minds 


LETTER  VI.  95 

were  entirely  unsophisticated  by  party  polemics  on 
this  subject.  And  such,  I  am  equally  persuaded,  is 
the  conclusion  to  which  Christian  fairness  and  ho- 
nour ought  to  conduct  us.  There  is  a  manifest  dif- 
ference between  the  essential  nature  of  a  Christian 
doctrine,  and  the  different  modes  of  representing  and 
expounding  it,  which  have  been  resorted  to  by  di- 
vines, on  the  whole  equally  sound  and  pious.  To 
depart  from  the  former,  is  to  abandon  the  doctrine; 
but  with  respect  to  the  latter,  some  variety  of  views 
must  be  expected  and  allowed.  To  illustrate  my 
meaning,  the  doctrine  of  the  vicarious  atoning  sacri- 
fice of  Christ  is  regarded,  by  all  who  are  entitled  to 
the  Christian  name,  as  a  fundamental  doctrine  of  the 
Gospel.  The  essential  nature  of  this  doctrine  I  sup- 
pose to  consist  in  the  fact,  that  the  Redeemer  laid 
down  his  life  as  a  covenanted  substitute  and  surety 
for  sinners.  In  other  words,  that,  "  though  he  knew 
no  sin,  he  was  made  sin  for  us,  that  we  might  be 
made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him."  Those 
who  adhere  to  this  leading  idea,  and  consider  the  sa- 
crifice of  Christ  as  strictly  vicarious^  must  be  consi- 
dered as  adhering  lo  all  that  is  radical  and  indispen- 
sable in  the  doctrine,  whether  they  explain  it  on  what 
has  been  called  the  Gethsemane  theory,  the  infinite 
value  scheme,  or  the  plan  of  universal  applicability. 
As  long  as  any  one  holds  the  true  scriptural  nature 
of  the  atonement,  he  may  be  allowed  some  latitude 
in  his  mode  of  explaining  its  extent,  without  being 
considered,  in  reference  to  this  article,  as  recreant 
from  the  standard  which  he  has  subscribed.  And 
so  of  other  leading  doctrines. 

While,  therefore,  some  diversity  in  the  explana- 
tions adopted  of  an  extended  series  of  doctrines,  must 


96  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

be  expected  among  the  teachers  in  every  church, 
and  has  been  ever  found  to  exist;  there  cannot,  it 
appears  to  me,  be  a  plainer  dictate  of  common  sense, 
and  common  honesty,  than  that  a  Pelagian,  a  Semi- 
pelagian^  or  Anninian^  to  say  nothing  of  more  radical 
errorists,  cannot  possibly,  with  a  good  conscience, 
subscribe  the  Confession  of  Faith  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  That  this  Confession  was  originally  drawn 
up  by  men  decisively  and  warmly  opposed  to  these 
errors,  is  universally  known.  Nay,  to  erect  a  barrier 
against  the  encroachments  of  those  errors,  which 
were  then  coming  into  England,  "  like  a  flood,"  was, 
notoriously,  one  main  object  in  the  construction  of 
this  formula.  Again,  the  private  writings  of  those 
who  first  formed  and  adopted  it,  all  speak  the  same 
language,  and  establish,  beyond  a  doubt,  the  quo 
animo  of  its  original  authors.  Further,  it  is  equally 
well  known,  to  all  who  are  acquainted  with  the  his- 
tory of  those  times,  that  our  own  Church,  in  this 
country,  when  by  her  "adopting  act,"  in  1729,  she 
received  this  Confession  of  Faith,  as  her  ecclesiasti- 
cal "form  of  sound  words,"  had  a  main  reference  to 
Semi-Pelagian  or  Arminian  errors,  as  those  to  which 
she  was  most  exposed,  and  against  which  it  behooved 
her  to  be  especially  on  her  guard.  Further  still; 
who  is  ignorant  that,  from  that  day  to  this,  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  has  been  universally  regarded,  and 
by  multitudes  stigmatized,  as  a  Calvinistic  body; 
that  on  this  ground,  she  has  uniformly  stood  aloof 
from  all  ecclesiastical  communion  with  confessedly 
Arminian  bodies,  of  various  denominations,  and  has 
borne  testimony  against  what  she  considered  as  their 
serious  errors;  and  that  she  has,  more  than  once,  in 
her  highest  judicatories,  condemned  the  writings  and 


LETTER  VI.  97 

the  preaching  of  such  of  her  own  ministers  as  were 
found  propagating  those  errors.  And,  to  crown  all, 
the  whole  history  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians^  in 
the  west,  bears  witness,  that  our  venerable  Fathers, 
thirty  years  ago,  when  there  was  no  special  jealousy 
or  prejudice  excited  in  reference  to  this  subject, 
thought  the  adoption  of  Arminian  opinions  altogether 
inconsistent  with  an  honourable  subscription  to  our 
Confession,  and  considered  it  as  their  duty  to  cast 
out  of  the  Church  a  large  body  of  otherwise  respecta- 
ble ministers  and  members,  who,  though  they  de- 
cisively preferred,  and  still  retain  Presbyterian  order, 
yet  could  not  subscribe  a  Calvinistic  Confession. 

Shall  we,  then,  be  told,  at  this  time  of  day,  after  all 
that  has  been  written,  and  decided,  and  done  in  refer- 
ence to  this  very  subject,  that  an  Arminian,  or  one 
who,  if  not  entirely  of  that  creed,  adopts  its  leading 
and  most  exceptionable  principles,  can  yet,  with 
entire  candour,  subscribe  to  our  Confession.**  Just  as 
rationally  and  honestly  might  it  be  contended  that  a 
zealous  Remonstrant^  m  1618,  might  have  conscien- 
tiously subscribed  to  the  "  Canons"  of  the  Synod  of 
Dort;  or  an  Arian  to  the  Creed  adopted  by  the 
Nicene  Council.  The  truth  is,  however  the  question, 
as  to  the  admissibility  of  minor  differences  in  the 
mode  of  explaining  Gospel  truth,  may  be  decided^ 
no  position  in  morals  can  be  plainer,  than  that  the 
advocate  of  those  principles  which  the  Confession  in 
language  directly  proscribes^  which  it  was  expressly 
and  specially  intended  to  exclude;  and  which  the 
actual  administration  of  the  Church  under  it,  is 
known  to  have  again  and  again  condemned  and  ex- 
cluded, cannot  possibly,  with  a  good  conscience,  sub- 
scribe to  its  articles.  Such  a  subscription  is  a  so- 
I 


98  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

LEMN  PERJURY.  If  there  be  such  a  thing  as  "  lying 
to  the  Holy  Ghost,"  here  it  is.  It  is  destroying  the 
very  intention  of  a  creedj  the  object  of  which,  as  all 
allow,  is  to  ascertain  and  secure  concurrence  in  faith. 
If  the  system  of  doctrine  taught  in  the  Confession 
be  wrong,  let  it  by  all  means  be  changed.  But  as 
long  as  we  profess  to  hold  certain  doctrines,  let  us 
really  and  honestly  hold  them.  I  would  unspeakably 
rather  discard  the  Confession  altogether,  than  adopt 
a  principle  v/hich  would  render  its  use  a  solemn 
mockery.  The  moment  this  lax  mode  of  interpret- 
ing subscription  to  creeds  becomes  general,  or  even 
frequent,  we  may  bid  farewell  to  their  power  or  use- 
fulness. They  can  no  longer  be  regarded  as  either 
a  bond  of  union,  or  as  a  fence  against  the  inroads  of 
error.  With  vv^hatever  potency  or  value  they  may 
have  been  once  invested,  they  will  soon  degenerate 
into  mere  unmeaning  forms. 

That  this  view  of  the  subject  is  neither  novel  nor 
extravagant,  will  be  apparent  to  those  who  weigh  the 
following  sentiments,  deliberately  published,  many 
years  since,  by  the  late  Dr.  Witherspoon,  who  was 
never  charged  with  either  levity  in  forming  his  opi- 
nions, or  wiih  violence  in  maintaining  them. 

"  I  cannot  forbear  warning  you  against  a  piece  of 
dishonesty  which  may  possibly  be  found  united  to 
gravity  and  decency  in  other  respects.  I  mean  a 
minister's  subscribing  to  articles  of  doctrine  which 
he  does  not  believe.  This  is  so  direct  a  violation  of 
sincerity,  that  it  is  astonishing  to  think  how  men 
can  set  their  minds  at  ease  in  the  prospect,  or  keep 
them  in  peace  after  the  deliberate  commission  of  it. 
The  very  excuses  and  evasions  that  are  offered  in  de- 
fence of  it,  are  a  disgrace  to  reason,  as  well  as  a 


LETTER    VI.  99 

scandal  to  religion.  What  success  can  be  expected 
from  that  man's  ministry,  who  begins  it  with  an  act 
of  such  complicated  guilt?  How  can  he  take  upon 
him  to  reprove  others  for  sin,  or  to  train  them  up  in 
virtue  and  true  goodness,  while  he  himself  is  charge- 
able with  direct,  premeditated,  and  perpetual  perjury? 
I  know  nothing  so  nearly  resembling  it  as  those  cases 
in  trade,  in  which  men  make  false  entries,  and  at 
once  screen  and  aggravate  their  fraud,  by  swearing, 
or  causing  others  to  swear,  contrary  to  truth.  This 
is  justly  reputed  scandalous,  even  in  the  world;  and 
yet  I  know  no  circumstance  in  which  they  differ  that 
does  not  tend  to  show  it  to  be  less  criminal  than  the 
other. — I  have  particularly  chosen  to  introduce  the 
subject  upon  this  occasion,  that  I  may  attack  it,  not 
as  an  error,  but  as  ^  fraud;  not  as  a  mistake  in  judg- 
ment, but  an  instance  of  gross  dishonesty  and  insin- 
cerity of  heart.  I  must  beg  every  minister,  but  es- 
pecially those  young  persons  who  have  an  eye  to  the 
sacred  office,  to  remember  that  God  will  not  be 
mocked,  though  the  world  may  be  deceived.  In  his 
sight,  no  gravity  of  deportment,  no  pretence  to  free- 
dom of  inquiry,  (a  thing  excellent  in  itself,)  no  regu- 
lar exercise  of  the  right  of  private  judgment,  will 
warrant  or  excuse  such  a  lie  for  gain,  as  solemnly  to 
subscribe  what  they  do  not  believe."* 

It  obviously  affords  no  relief  from  this  heavy  charge 
to  allege,  as  some  have  done,  that  they  subscribed 
the  Confession  of  Faith  with  a  mental  reservation^  im- 
plying that  they  received  it  only  so  far  as  they  consi- 
dered it  as  agreeing  with  the  Scriptures.  This,  I  ac- 
knowledge, appears  to  me  a  subterfuge  which  offers 

*  Witherspoon's  Works,  Vol.  I.  p.  313—314. 


ICO  LETTERS  TO    PRESBYTERIANS. 

as  direct  an  insult  to  common  sense  as  it  does  to  com- 
mon honesty.  Upon  this  principle  it  is  plain  that 
any  man  might,  without  scruple,  subscribe  any  Con- 
fession of  Faith  whatever.  For,  surely  a  Socinian 
might,  without  the  least  hesitation,  declare  that  he 
believed  a  rigidly  Calvinistic  Confession,  so  far  as 
he  considered  it  as  coinciding  with  the  Bible;  or  as 
to  those  points,  (and  there  are  surely  some  such,)  in 
regard  to  which  it  agreed  with  the  word  of  God. 
Besides,  of  what  value  is  a  subscription  to  any  creed 
which  is  made  upon  this  principle?  The  only  object 
of  subscribing  a  creed,  is  to  ascertain  whether  the 
subscriber  believes  a  certain  set  of  doctrines;  or  in 
other  words,  whether  he  believes  them  to  be  taught 
in  the  Bible.  But  is  it  not  evident  that  he  who  sub- 
scribes with  the  mental  reservation  before  us,  entirely 
defeats  this  object;  evades  the  only  design  of  the 
whole  transaction;  and  palms  a  base  deception  upon 
the  body  before  which  he  stands;  a  deception  the 
more  criminal,  and  the  more  mischievous,  because 
practised  as  a  solemn  religious  act,  and  in  the  name 
of  the  heart-searching  God!  It  would  be  unspeaka- 
bly better,  in  my  opinion,  to  abandon  at  once  all 
church  creeds,  than  to  continue  their  use,  upon  a 
principle  so  utterly  subversive  of  all  fairness  and 
sincerity.  And  it  requires  no  gift  of  prophecy  to 
foresee,  that  any  church  or  judicatory  that  acts  upon 
such  a  principle,  is  sowing  the  seeds  of  ruinous  dis- 
cord and  corruption,  and  must  expect  the  curse  of  a 
God  of  truth. 

It  has  been  sometimes,  indeed,  alleged,  as  a  source 
of  relief  from  this  view  of  the  subject,  that  those  who 
are  agreed  in  the  great  facts  involved  in  Christian 
truth  may  safely  subscribe  the  same  creed,  although 


LETTER   VI.  101 

they  may  differ  very  widely  in  their  philosophical  solu- 
tion of  those  facts.  For  example,  it  is  supposed  by 
some,  that  those  who  agree  in  what  are  called  Calvin- 
istic  facts,  may  conscientiously  subscribe  our  Confes- 
sion of  Faith,  though  all  their  philosophical  explana- 
tions of  those  facts  be  thoroughly  Pelagian  or  Armi- 
nian.  Now,  it  is  not  denied  that  the  facts  of  the 
Christian  revelation  inai/,  to  a  certain  extent,  be  sepa- 
rated from  the  philosophy  of  those  facts.  It  is  not 
denied  that  the  former  may,  in  many  cases,  be  honestly 
held  fast,  while  a  considerable  range  of  speculation 
is  indulged  with  regard  to  the  latter.  But  what  is 
denied  is,  that  this  principle  can  be  admitted  in  the 
case  before  us,  beyond  very  restricted  limits.  As 
applied,  by  many  modern  errorists,  to  cover  a  disin- 
genuous subscription  to  articles  of  belief,  it  is  a  sub- 
terfuge in  the  highest  degree  uncandid  and  danger- 
ous; and  if  employed  as  some  theologians  appear 
willing  to  employ  it,  can  scarcely  fail  of  opening  the 
door  to  all  the  evils  of  perfect  latitudinarianism. 

Suppose  one  of  the  alleged  Calvinistic  facts  in  ques- 
tion to  be,  that  man  is  a  depraved  being.^  It  is  true 
Calvinists  maintain  this  fact.  But  so  do  Jlrminians, 
so  do  Pelagians.  But  hoiv  is  it  held  by  each?  The 
slightest  intelligent  survey  will  satisfy  any  impartial 
judge  that  the  general  fact  may  be  admitted,  and  is 
admitted  by  thousands,  upon  principlr.s,  and  in  a 
form  entirely  subversive  of  the  Gospel  plan  of  salva- 
tion. Again:  suppose  the  fact  in  question  to  be,  that 
all  the  sincere  disciples  of  Christ  are  renewed  and 
sanctified  by  the  Holy  Ghost.^  Here  again,  all  classes 
of  professing  Christians  agree  in  words.  When  many 
Arminians,  however,  accede  to  this  fact,  they  mean 
only  that  the  Holy  Spirit  operates  upon  all  alike, 
I  2 


102  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

where  the  Gospel  comes,  just  as  the  atmosphere 
presses  equally  upon  all  who  are  immersed  in  it; 
and  that  the  reason  why  one  is  savingly  impressed 
and  not  another,  is,  that  the  former  cherishes  the  im- 
pression, which  the  latter  does  not.  They  "make 
themselves  to  differ."  When  the  Pelagian  admits 
this  fact,  it  is  upon  principles  still  further  removed 
from  scriptural  truth.  And  when  the  Socinian  ac- 
knowledges the  fact,  it  is  often  meant  by  him  to  im- 
port nothing  more  than  that  the  Holy  Spirit,  that  is 
a  Divine  influence,  has  revealed  in  the  Scriptures  the 
w' ay  of  salvation.  I  ask,  is  the  nominal  fact  sufficient 
here?  May  not,  nay,  is  not,  a  mode  of  explaining  it 
adopted,  which  completely  nullifies  it,  as  a  ground  of 
Christian  hope?  Or  rather,  which  makes  it  an  en- 
tirely DIFFERENT  SORT  OF  FACT  from  that  which  the 
Bible  exhibits?  Further;  suppose  the  fact  under 
discussion  to  be,  that  men  are  saved  through  the 
atonement  of  Christ.  Almost  all  denominations  of 
Christians  will  readily  concur  in  this  statement,  as 
announcing  a  great  fact.  But  is  this  enough  for  him 
who  would  "  contend  earnestly  for  the  faith  once  de-  , 
livered  to  the  saints?"  Some  mean  no  more  by  the 
statement  just  made  than  that  Christ  by  his  instruc- 
tions has  revealed  to  men  a  future  life,  and  by  his  suf- 
ferings and  death  intended  to  benefit  them  in  the  way 
of  example.  A  second  class  understand  the  nominal^ 
fact  in  question  to  mean  that  Christ  by  his  obedience, 
sufferings  and  death  has  procured  a  mitigation  of  the 
demands  of  the  law;  so  that  the  believer  can  now 
purchase  eternal  blessedness  by  his  own  imperfect 
obedience;  whereas,  anterior  to  the  atoning  sacrifice 
of  the  Son  of  God,  a  perfect  obedience  only  could 
avail  to   this  end.     According  to  these,  Christ  died, 


LETTER    VI.  103 

not  to  satisfy  the  demands  of  law  and  justice — not  to 
pay  the  debt  of  his  people,  and  thus  set  them  free 
from  condemnation^  but  simply  to  lower  the  terms  of 
acceptance,  and  to  bring;  the  required  payment  within 
the  reach  even  of  sinful  creatures.  But  a  third  class 
interpret  the  fact  of  which  we  speak  in  a  totally  dif- 
ferent manner.  Tliey  suppose  that  the  sacrifice  of 
Christ  was  truly  and  properly  vicarious^  that  the 
Father  "  laid  on  him  the  iniquities  of  us  all^" — that 
he  "  bare  our  sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  treej" — and 
that  he  delivers  his  people  from  the  curse  of  the  law 
by  "  being  made  a  curse  for  them."  I  ask  again,  is 
the  alleged  fact  the  same  in  the  systems  of  all  these 
people?  Let  the  humble  believer,  who  can  find  no 
rest  for  his  soul  but  in  the  all-perfect  and  all-sufficient 
righteousness  of  his  Divine  Surety,  answer  the  ques- 
tion. The  truth  is,  what  is  called  the  fact  in  ques- 
tion, is,  in  each  of  these  cases,  an  entirely  different 
fact  in  the  estimation  of  the  different  classes  enume- 
rated. Each  erroneous  theory  perverts  the  fact  as 
found  in  the  Bible,  and  transforms  it  into  a  fact  of 
totally  different  aspect  and  bearing.  Let  me  entreat 
the  friends  of  Bible  truih,  then,  to  beware  of  those  who 
talk  of  Calvinistic  facts  explained  by  Pelagian,  or 
Semi-pelagian  philosophy.  It  is  an  utter  and  ruinous 
delusion.  The  Pelagian  philosophy  never  fails  to 
transform  all  the  facts  which  it  perverts  and  tortures, 
into  Pelagian  facts,  with  this  dangerous  circumstance 
attending  them,  that  they  are  really  Pelagian  under  a 
deceptive  name  and  false  colours.  Let  Pelagian  phi- 
losophy prevail  in  the  Church  for  a  few  years,  and  he 
is  an  infatuated  man  who  flatters  himself  that  Pela- 
gian doctrines  will  not  soon  be  the  reigning  creed. 
These  remarks,  my  Christian  brethren,  are  freely 


104  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

made,  not  for  the  purpose  of  wounding  feelings,  or 
fomenting  strife;  but  with  a  sincere  desire  to  prevent 
both,  by  preventing  what  must  inevitably  lead  to  both. 
Allowing  men  to  subscribe  to  a  confession  which 
they  obviously  do  not  believe;  and  to  declare  that 
they  "  approve"  of  a  form  of  ecclesiastical  govern- 
ment and  discipline  which  they  do  not  love,  and  have 
no  disposition  to  support,  may  have  the  appearance 
of  great  "  liberality,"  and  may  seem  to  promise  a 
most  enviable  harmony  among  brethren  of  different 
opinions.  But  the  appearance  is  delusive.  The 
hope  is  a  miserable  dream.  It  requires  no  spirit  of 
prophecy  to  foresee,  that  whenever  our  ecclesiastical 
judicatories  begin  deliberately  to  admit  of  subscrip- 
tion to  our  public  standards  on  any  such  principles, 
they  are  paving  the  way  for  troubles  and  dangers  of 
the  most  ruinous  kind.  They  will  soon  discover, 
either  that  they  haye  introduced  an  enemy  into  the 
camp,  who  will  create  all  the  confusion  of  Babel, 
and  eventually  tear  them  in  pieces;  or,  that  they 
have,  unwarily,  brought  upon  themselves,  that  indif- 
ference to  truth,  and  that  moral  torpor  and  death, 
into  which  the  Protestant  Churches  of  France  and 
Geneva^  from  this  very  cause,  and  in  this  very  way, 
gradually  sunk  down,  and  which  was,  for  many  years, 
the  basis  of  all  their  tranquillity.  There  is  peace 
among  the  dead;  but  it  is  the  peace  of  darkness,  of 
rottenness  and  of  desolation.  From  such  a  peace, 
may  God  of   his  infinite  mercy  preserve  us. 

Princeton,  February,  18S3- 


LETTER   VII.  105 


LETTER  YII. 

Adherence  to  our  Doctrinal  Standards. 

Christian  Brethren, 

It  may  be  asked,  and  probably  will  be  asked  by 
some,  what  application  the  subjects  discussed  in  the 
preceding  letter,  can  have  to  the  present  state  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church?  I  answer,  much  in  a  variety 
of  ways.  There  are,  undoubtedly,  circumstances, 
either  real  or  supposed,  in  the  situation  of  the 
Church,  adapted  to  excite  deep  solicitude  in  the 
minds  of  those  who  take  an  interest  in  her  welfare; 
and  especially  in  the  minds  of  those  who  believe 
that  her  true  interest  essentially  depends  on  her 
faithful  adherence  to  those  evangelical  principles, 
which  our  fathers  laboured  hard  to  defend  and  esta- 
blish; which  their  sons  have  gone  through  many  a 
conflict  to  maintain;  and  which  the  great  mass  of 
our  most  experienced,  wise,  and  pious  ministers  and 
members  do  still  consider  as  lying  at  the  foundation 
of  our  real  prosperity  as  a  Church  of  Christ.  You 
will,  no  doubt,  anticipate  me  when  I  say,  that  the 
circumstance  to  which  I  allude  is,  the  painful  appre- 
hension entertained  by  many,  that,  in  some  of  our 
Presbyteries,  there  is  not  that  entire  adherence  to 
our  doctrinal  standards  which  the  purity  of  the 
Church  demands.  To  what  extent  there  is  real 
ground  for  this  fear,  I  pretend  not  to  decide.  I 
would  fain  hope,  as  expressed  in  my  first  letter,  that 
nineteen-twentieths   of  our  ministry  and   eldership 


106  LETTERS  TO   PRESBYTERIANS. 

are  not  liable,  in  any  considerable  degree,  to  the 
charge  in  question.  I  know,  however,  that  the  ap- 
prehension above  referred  to,  exists  in  some  minds; 
and  that  in  some  cases,  it  is  so  deeply  fixed,  as  mate- 
rially to  interfere  with  that  cordiality  of  feeling,  and 
that  harmony  of  Christian  intercourse,  which  are  so 
desirable  among  the  members  of  the  body  of  Christ, 
and  which  it  is  the  unfeigned  object  of  these  letters 
to  promote.  Many  of  those  whom  I  address,  will  be 
better  judges  both  of  the  reality  and  extent  of  the 
evil  in  question,  than,  in  my  situation,  I  can  possibly 
be.  Permit  me,  then.  Christian  brethren,  to  pour 
out  the  fulness  of  my  heart  on  this  important  subject, 
with  fraternal  freedom.  I  shall  "bring  no  railing  accu- 
sation" against  any  one.  I  shall  hold  up  no  brother  to 
the  public  gaze  as  a  heretic.  Nothing  is  further  from 
my  wish,  than  to  hurl  the  charge  of  heterodoxy,  or  to 
indulge  the  suspicion  of  it  in  my  bosom.  Rather 
would  I  cherish  myself  and  inculcate  upon  all  whom 
I  address,  the  exercise  of  that  Christian  charity  which 
"hopeth  all  things,"  and  "thinketh  no  evil."  Still, 
even  charity  herself  has  eyes,  and  ears,  and  intellect, 
and  cannot  be  regardless  of  the  truth.  If  the  evil  in 
question  exists,  is  it  the  part  of  wisdom  to  close  our 
eyes  against  it.^  Will  it  not  "  eat  as  doth  a  canker," 
and  be  likely,  at  last,  to  produce  a  fatal  mischief?  If 
it  produce  uneasiness  now,  will  it  not  be  likely,  if 
left  uncorrected,  to  produce  discord,  hostility,  and 
rupture  in  the  end.^  Allow  me,  then,  to  express  my 
feelings  on  the  subject  with  all  the  sincerity  and 
frankness  of  one  who  loves  harmony  and  quietness 
MUCH,  but  truth  more;  and  who  remembers  that 
the  inspired  oracle  represents  that  "  wisdom  which 
Cometh  down  from  above,  as  first  pure,  then  peacea- 


LETTER  VII.  107 

ble;" — nay  who   is   persuaded   that  all   that  peace 
which  rests~upon  indifference  to  the  truth,   or  on 
friendship  to  error,  must  be  as  transient  as  it  is  false. 
Let  none  say,  that  uniformity  of  doctrinal  belief, 
among  the  ministers  and  members  of  a  particular 
church,  is  by  no  means  so  important  as  many  ima- 
gine; and   that  to   indulge  uneasiness,  or   to    give 
trouble  respecting  it,  is  rather  a  mark  of  prejudice 
and  bigotry  than  of  sound  wisdom.     This,  I  know,  is 
the   language  of  some.     But  is  it  the  language  of 
God's  word?     Has  it  been  the  language  of  the  most 
faithful    and    eminently   useful    of    the   servants   of 
Christ  in  any  age?    What  is  to  be  done  by  those  who 
verily  believe  that  Christians  are  bound,  agreeablv 
to  the  inspired  injunction,  to  "  hold  fast  the  form  of 
sound    words   which    they   have  received,"    and    to 
"contend  earnestly  for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the 
saints?"     What  shall  be  done  by  those  who  believe 
that  one  principal  end  for  which  the  Church  was  in- 
stituted by  her  Divine  Head,  was  that  she  might 
preserve  in  their  purity,  and  transmit  uncorrupted  to  ' 
future    ages,   the   true  faith    and    order  of  Christ's 
house?     What  shall  we  say  to  those  humble,  consci- 
entious  Christians   who    think    they  read,   in  every 
page  of  ecclesiastical  history,  that  in  all  cases  with- 
out exception,  when  the  Church  has   faithfully  ad- 
hered to  those  doctrines  of  the  Bible,  and  of  the  Re- 
formation, which   are   taught  in   our   Confession  of 
Faith,  she  has  been  blessed  and  prospered;  and  thr.t, 
just  in  proportion  as  she  has  departed  from  these 
doctrines,  she  has  declined  both  in  spirituality  and 
peace?     It  is  not  enough  to  tell  such  persons  that 
they  are  weakly  prejudiced,  or  that  they  are  "  high 
church"  bigots.     This  is,  surely,  not  the  way  either 


108  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS, 

to  satisfy  a  conscientious  scruple,  or  to  promote 
Christian  love  among  "brethren.  The  stubborn  facts, 
after  all,  remain;  that  is  by  the  truth  alone,  borne 
home  to  the  heart  by  the  Spirit's  power,  that  any  of 
the  children  of  men  are  truly  sanctified; — and  that 
it  is  only  so  far  as  the  disciples  of  Christ  "  walk  by 
the  same  rule,"  and  "  speak  the  same  thing,"  that 
they  can  be  blessed  with  a  harmony  and  love  which 
are  worth  possessing. 

The  impression  which  has  undeniably  been  made 
on  the  minds  of  some  excellent  ministers  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  that  there  are  brethren  in  our  con- 
nexion, who  have  departed  from  some  of  the  import- 
ant doctrines  of  our  Confession;  and  that  there  are 
others,  who,  though  not  chargeable  themselves  with 
this  departure,  in  all  its  extent,  are  yet  over-indulgent 
to  it  in  their  co-presbyters; — the  impression,  I  say, 
thus  made,  is  either  founded  in  truth,  or  it  is  false. 
If  it  be  entirely  false;  if  there  be  no  real  ground  for 
the  suspicion;  why  suffer  it  to  be  indulged  for  a  mo- 
ment? Why  not  remove  it  effectually,  and  at  once, 
as  might  easily  be  done  by  a  few  candid  and  explicit 
statements?  Surely  to  make  such  statements,  is  not 
too  great  a  condescension,  when  the  edification  of 
brethren,  and  the  peace  of  the  Church,  are  involved. 
But  if  the  impression  referred  to  be  just;  if  the  sus- 
picion of  doctrines  seriously  erroneous  having  crept 
into  the  Church,  be  founded  in  fact,  can  those  who 
lament,  and  complain  of  the  fact,  be  blamed?  Ought 
they,  as  "  watchmen  on  the  walls  of  Zion,"  to  hold 
their  peace  when  their  Master's  truth  is  invaded? 
And  is  it  possible  to  hope  for  a  sound  and  safe  peace 
until  the  evil  is,  in  some  way,  corrected;  until  the 


LETTER   VII.  109 

impression  of  which  we  speak  is  legitimately  re- 
moved? 

On  such  a  subject,  however,  general  remarks  and 
suggestions  will  be  of  little  value,  unless  followed  by 
some  distinct  specifications.  I  will,  therefore,  frankly 
give  a  specimen  of  the  doctrines  to  which  I  allude. 
That  teaching  doctrines  such  as  I  am  about  to  men- 
tion, has  been  often  and  formally  imputed  to  minis- 
ters of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States, 
no  one  who  has  been  conversant  with  the  religious 
journals  of  our  country  can  fail  to  know.  With  what 
truth  these  imputations  may,  in  some  instances,  have 
been  made,  I  will  not,  at  present,  undertake  to  de- 
cide; and,  therefore,  I  do  not  venture  to  connect  the 
specified  opinions  with  any  particular  names.  But  I 
will  venture  to  say,  that  if  any  of  these  doctrines  are 
held  and  taught  by  any  of  the  ministers  connected 
with  the  Presbyterian  Church,  it  is  deeply  to  be  de- 
plored, and  affords  a  painful  augury  of  the  purity  and 
peace  of  the  Church  in  time  to  come. 

The  doctrines  referred  to  are  such  as  these — That 
we  have  no  more  to  do  with  the  first  sin  of  Adam, 
than  with  that  of  any  other  parent; — that  he  was  not 
constituted  the  covenant  head  of  his  posterity,  but 
was  merely  their  natural  progenitor; — that  there  is 
no  such  thing  as  original  sin;  that  infants  come  into 
the  world  as  perfectly  free  from  corruption  of  nature 
as  Adam  was  when  he  was  created; — that  to  speak  of 
innate  corrupt  inclinations  and  propensities,  is  an  ab- 
surdity;— that  by  human  depravity  is  meant  nothing 
more  than  the  universal  fact,  that  all  the  posterity  of 
Adam,  though  born  entirely  free  from  moral  defile- 
ment, will  always  begin  to  sin  when  they  begin  to 
exercise  moral   agency; — that   the   doctrine  of  im- 

K 


1  10  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

puted  sin,  or  imputed  righteousness,  is  nonsense;— 
that  the  human  will  determines  itself; — that  the  im- 
penitent sinner  is,  by  nature,  in  full  possession  of  all 
the  powers  necessary  to  a  full  compliance  with  all 
the  commands  of  God; — that  he  is  in  possession  of 
plenary  ability  to  repent  and  believe,  without  the  aid 
of  the  Holy  Spirit; — that  if  he  laboured  under  any 
kind  of  inability^  natural  or  moral,  which  he  could  not 
remove  himself,  he  would  be  fully  excusable  for  not 
complying  with  God's  will; — that  man  is  active  in 
his  own  regeneration;  in  other  words,  that  his  rege- 
neration is  his  own  act; — that  it  is  impossible  for 
God,  by  a  direct  influence  on  the  mind,  to  control  its 
perceptions  and  practical  choices,  without  destroy- 
ing its  moral  agency; — that,  consequently.  Omnipo- 
tence cannot  exert  such  an  influence  on  men  as  shall 
make  it  certain  that  they  will  choose  and  act  in  a 
particular  manner,  without  making  them  mere  ma- 
chines;— that  we  have  no  evidence  that  God  could 
have  prevented  the  existence  of  sin,  or  that  he  could 
now  prevent  any  that  exists,  without  interfering  with 
the  moral  agency  of  man; — that  he  would,  no  doubt, 
be  glad  to  do  it,  but  is  not  able; — that  he  elected  men 
to  eternal  life,  on  a  foresight  of  what  their  character 
would  be; — and  that  his  sovereignty  is  confined  to 
the  revelation  of  truth,  and  the  exhibition  of  it  to  the 
mind. 

Now,  let  any  man  take  these  doctrinal  proposi- 
tions, and  compare  them  with  the  spirit  and  lan- 
guage of  our  Confession  of  Faith;  and  if  he  can  lay 
his  hand  on  his  heart,  and  say,  with  an  honest  cov- 
science,  that  they  agree  with  that  formulary,,  and  that 
the  same  individual  can  sincerely  assent  to  both,  he 
will  furnish,  it  appears  to  me,  one  of  the  most  signal 


LETTER  VII.  1  1  I 

examples  of  either  perverted  intellect,  or  moral  obli- 
quity, that  can  easily  be  found.  If  I  really  adopted 
the  foregoing  doctrines,  I  should  certainly  consider 
myself  as  guilty  of  the  grossest  perjury  in  subscribing 
the  Confession  of  Faith.  If  Pelagian  and  Semi-Pela- 
gian sentiments  existed  in  the  Jifth  century,  here  they 
are,  in  all  their  unquestionable  and  revolting  features. 
More*  particularly,  in  regard  to  the  denial  of  original 
sin  and  the  assertion  of  the  doctrine  of  human  ability, 
Pelagius  and  his  followers  never,  certainly,  went  fur- 
ther than  some  of  the  advocates  of  the  doctrines 
above  recited.  To  attempt  to  persuade  us  to  the 
contrary,  is  to  suppose  that  the  record  of  the  pub- 
lished language  and  opinions  of  those  ancient  here- 
tics is  lost  or  forgotten.  And  to  assert  that  these 
opinions  are  reconcileable  with  the  Calvinistic  sys- 
tem, is  to  offer  a  poor  compliment  to  the  memory  of 
the  most  acute,  learned,  and  pious  divines,  that  ever 
adorned  the  Church  of  God,  from  the  days  of  Augus- 
tine to  those  of  the  venerable  band  of  Puritans,  who, 
after  bearing  a  noble  testimony  against  surrounding 
errors  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  bore  the  lamp 
of  truth,  and  planted  the  standard  of  Christ  in  this 
western  hemisphere.  Were  they  entirely  mistaken 
in  all  their  able  and  heroic  testimony  against  Pela- 
gian and  Arminian  errors?  Did  they  spend  their 
breath,  and  give  up  all  that  was  dear  to  them  in  this 
world,  in  vainly  contending  against  a  mere  imaginary 
discrepance?  My  Christian  friends,  if  we  are  pre- 
pared to  admit  this,  we  are  indeed  the  degenerate 
offspring  of  a  noble  race  of  men.  Let  us  no  longer 
claim  them  as  our  sires.  Let  us  withdraw  the  me- 
morials of  their  exalted  virtues,  piety  and  services, 
which  we  have  so  often  thought  ourselves  honoured 


112  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

in  erecting.  Let  us  no  more  repeat  that  almost  hal- 
lowed aspiration — Sit  anima  mea  cum  Puritanis! 

That  the  distressing  apprehensions  of  error  just 
expressed  are  not  confined  to  "  old  school"  Presbyte- 
rians, is  well  known  to  those  who  have  attended  to 
the  popular  publications  of  the  day.  One  of  the 
most  acute,  profound,  and  cautious  theologians  of 
New  England^  the  venerable  Professor  of  Christian 
Theology  at  Andover^  in  speaking  of  the  precise  opi- 
nions above  recited,  and  others  of  allied  character, 
represents  himself  and  his  friends  as  filled  with  anx- 
ious fears  respecting  the  nature  and  tendency  of  these 
opinions^  and  considers  their  advocates  as  "  making 
an  attack  on  several  important  articles  of  the  ortho- 
dox faith^  and  as  employing  language  on  the  subject 
of  moral  agency,  free  will,  depravity,  divine  influence, 
Sec,  which  is  so  like  the  language  of  Arminians  and 
Pelagians,  that  it  would  require  some  labour  to  dis- 
cover the  difference."*  And  one  of  the  most  enlight- 
ened and  respectable  divines  oi  Connecticut^  in  terms 
of  still  more  unqualified  reprobation,  denounces  the 
same  opinions,  as  Arminian  in  their  character^  di- 
rectly adapted — whatever  may  be  the  intention  of 
their  advocates,  to  make  all  who  believe  them  Armi- 
nians; and  tending  to  undermine,  at  once,  the  purity 
and  peace  of  the  Church.f 

But  the  question,  whether  the  doctrinal  opinions 
alluded  to  are  reconcileable  with  the  received  Con- 
fession and  Catechisms  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
is  of  small  importance  compared  with  another — Are 
they  reconcileable  with   the    Scriptures?     What  is 

*  Dr.  Wood's  Letters  to  Dr.  Taylor,  p.  93, 
t  Letters^  &c.  by  an  Edwardean. 


LETTER  VII.  I  13 

their  bearing,  on  that  great  system  of  "  grace  and 
truth  -which  came  by  Jesus  Christ?"  And  here  the 
unavoidable  answer  appears  to  me  to  be  of  the  most 
painful  kind.  I  am  aware,  indeed,  that  the  respected 
brethren  who  are  said  to  be  the  advocates  of  these 
opinions,  are  said  also  to  believe  and  insist  that  they 
consider  them  as  peculiarly  benign  in  their  aspect 
and  influence.  They  assure  us  that  these  doctrines 
afford  great  advantages  over  all  others,  in  addressing 
both  saints  and  sinners;  in  making  men  feel  their 
deep  responsibility,  and  in  moving  them  to  imme- 
diate and  vigorous  effort  in  the  great  work  of  salva- 
tion; that  they  are  the  most  efficient  promoters  of 
revivals,  and  eminently  adapted  to  build  up  the 
Church  of  God.  I  have  no  doubt  they  believe  all 
this.  And  those  who,  with  me,  deplore  the  recep- 
tion of  these  opinions  by  any,  might  believe  it  too,  if 
the  opinions  themselves  had  now,  for  the  first  time, 
been  known  in  the  Christian  Church.  But  they  are 
old  opinions.  There  is  scarcely  any  thing  new  about 
them,  even  in  their  dress.  An  ample  experiment  has 
been  made  of  their  effects  in  different  ages,  and  in 
various  parts  of  the  world;  and  these  effects  have  al- 
ways been  deplorable,  especially  in  reference  to  the 
spiritual  interests  of  the  Church.  The  very  same 
plea  was  made  in  behalf  of  the  same  doctrines,  by 
their  original  advocates  in  the  fifth  century,  and  has 
been  urged  by  their  followers  ever  since.  Yet  no- 
thing is  more  plain  than  that  all  the  principles  of 
evangelical  truth,  and  all  the  lessons  of  Christian  ex- 
perience must  be  reversed  before  such  a  plea  can  be 
admitted.  In  fact,  the  whole  tendency  of  the  system 
of  doctrines  just  detailed,  is  to  exalt  the  creature,  and 
depress  the  Creator;  to  give  us  less  humbling  ideas 
K  2 


114  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

of  the  moral  disease  under  which  we  labour,  and  a 
diminished  sense  of  obligation  to  the  grace  of  Christ, 
and  to  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit; — to  make  the 
impenitent  believe  that  conversion  is  a  small  and  easy 
thing,  and  that  they  can  accomplish  it  in  their  own 
strength,  whenever  they  please.  If  men  come  into 
.the  world  as  free  from  all  moral  taint  as  Adam  was 
in  his  state  of  primitive  rectitude,  and  yet  never  fail 
to  commence  a  course  of  sin  the  moment  their  moral 
agency  begins,  is  not  the  doctrine  of  depravity,  on 
this  plan,  encumbered  with  new  difficulties,  and 
placed  on  a  footing  far  more  perplexing  and  objec- 
tionable than  the  old  system  of  orthodoxy  ever  placed 
it?  If  there  be  no  such  thing  as  innate  depravity, 
what  is  the  real  source  of  the  sinful  series  of  actions 
which  never  fails  to  commence  with  the  commence- 
ment of  moral  agency?  Is  God  the  source  of  it? 
There  is  nothing,  it  seems,  in  man,  by  nature,  to 
which  it  can  be  traced.  Besides,  if  this  be  so,  in 
what  can  regeneration  consist?  If  there  be  no  na- 
tive tendency  or  disposition  of  the  soul  to  be  correct- 
ed, what  does  the  Holy  Spirit  do  to  or  for  a  man 
when  he  regenerates  him?  Does  he  only  break  the 
force  of  a  few  successive  sinful  acts,  without  any 
agency  on  the  heart  which  will  render  it  less  liable, 
or  less  disposed  to  sin  in  future?  Further;  if  God 
cannot  control  the  volitions  of  men  without  destroy- 
ing their  moral  agency,  then  all  certainty  that  his 
purposes  will  be  accomplished,  his  predictions  ful- 
filled, and  the  perseverance  of  his  people  in  holiness 
secured,  is,  at  one  stroke,  subverted.  If  God  wills 
to  save  man,  and  yet  cannot  save  him,  unless  man 
wills  to  help  him,  though  at  the  same  time,  man, 
(according  to  this  system)  can  will  to  be  saved  inde- 


LETTER    VII.  115 

pendently  of  any  agency  or  will  of  God  to  that  end: 
what  security  is  there  that  any  will  be  saved  ?  If 
man  be  active  in  his  own  regeneration;  in  other 
words,  if  the  agency  by  which  he  is  "brought  out  of 
darkness  into  the  marvellous  light"  of  the  Gospel,  is 
his  own,  in  what  rational  or  scriptural  sense  can  he 
be  said  to  be  "  born  of  the  Spirit;"  to  be  "  born,  not 
of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will 
of  man,  but  of  God?"  If  the  wills  of  men  are  always 
governed  by  a  "  self-determining  power,"  how  can 
all  glorying  be  taken  away  from  the  creature,  and  as- 
cribed to  almighty,  sovereign,  self-moving  grace?  Is 
it  indeed  so?  then  I  see  not — notwithstanding  all  the 
solemn,  and  I  doubt  not,  sincere  protestations  of  the 
abettors  of  these  doctrines  to  the  contrary,  I  see  not 
how  we  can  avoid  the  conclusion,  that  the  character 
of  God  is  dishonoured;  that  his  counsels  are  de- 
graded to  a  chaos  of  impotent  wishes,  and  abortive 
endeavours;  that  his  promises  are  the  fallible  and 
uncertain  declarations  of  circumscribed  power,  and 
endless  doubt;  that  it  is  impossible  to  guard  the  best 
hopes  of  the  Christian  from  the  constant  liability  to 
be  blasted,  unless  by  reducing  him  to  a  mere  ma- 
chine; that  the  whole  plan  of  salvation  is  nothing 
better  than  a  system  of  probabilities  and  peradven- 
tures,  in  which  nothing  can  be  made  certain  but  at 
the  expense  of  destroying  the  moral  agency  of  the 
creature;  and  that  it  is  nearly,  if  not  quite,  as  likely 
to  land  the  believer  in  the  abyss  of  the  damned,  as  in 
the  paradise  of  God! 

I  know  that  these  consequences  are  neither  recog- 
nised nor  admitted  by  the  respected  brethren  who 
entertain  the  opinions  under  consideration.  On  the 
contrary,  they  think  they  see  consequences  flowing 


116  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

from  them  of  the  most  favourable  and  inviting  cha- 
racter. Nay;  I  believe  they  have  been  led,  in  some 
instances,  to  embrace  and  to  preach  these  doctrines, 
by  a  sincere  wish  to  avoid  certain  evils  which  they 
saw,  or  thought  they  saw,  to  arise  from  the  exhibition 
of  what  they  called  the  "  Old  Orthodoxy."  They 
have  heard,  perhaps,  some  who  professed  to  be  ad- 
vocates of  "  Calvinism,"  represent  some  of  the  fea- 
tures of  that  system,  and  especially  the  subject  of 
human  inability^  in  a  manner  rather  adapted  to  di- 
minish a  sense  of  responsibility,  and  lull  to  sleep, 
than  rouse  and  alarm  the  impenitent  sinner.  They 
have  thence  hastily  concluded,  that  the  fault  was  in 
the  system  itself,  and  not  in  the  preacher.  And  in 
their  ardent  zeal  to  do  good,  instead  of  only  rectifying 
the  mode  of  presenting  truth,  which  was  all  that  need- 
ed rectification,  they  have  been  allured  into  the  oppo- 
site error,  by  an  honest  desire  to  make  a  strong  and 
salutary  impression.  This,  I  have  no  doubt,  is  a 
real  statement  of  facts;  and  that  we  have,  of  course, 
to  thank  the  occasional  mistakes  of  "  old  school" 
preaching,  for  some  of  the  most  serious  departures 
of  "new  school"  champions,  from  the  simplicity  of 
Bible  truth.  This^  however,  while  it  accounts  for  the 
fact  before  us,  by  no  Tne3r\s  justifies  it.  Some  of  the 
worst  heresies  that  ever  infected  the  Church  have 
arisen  from  a  similar  source. 

As  to  the  alleged  peculiar  tendency  of  these  doc- 
trines, to  make  men  feel  their  responsibility,  and  to 
promote  revivals  of  religion,  it  is,  I  am  constrained 
to  believe,  altogether  delusive.  The  preaching  of 
these  opinions  may  promote,  as  I  am  persuaded  it 
has  promoted,  revivals  of  a  spurious  kind,  in  which 
temporary  excitement — strong  animal  feeling — and 


LETTER   VII.  1  17 

VOWS  and  resolutions  made  on  the  spur  of  the  mo- 
ment, and  in  human  strength,  were  the  sum  and  sub- 
stance of  what  was  accomplished  by  them.  Or  they 
may  exceedingly  rouse  the  public  mind,  by  being 
connected  with  novel  devices  and  movements.  Thus, 
it  is  well  known,  that  strongly  marked  and  extensive 
religious  excitements  have  often  occurred,  both  in 
former  and  latter  times,  under  the  ministration  of 
those  who  denied  every  fundamental  doctrine  of  the 
Gospel.  But  surely  no  one  ever  considered  this  as 
any  evidence  that  the  sentiments  on  which  the  whole 
rested,  were  either  sound  in  their  character,  or  salu- 
tary in  their  influence.  I  defy  the  most  diligent  stu- 
dent of  ecclesiastical  history,  to  produce  a  single  in- 
stance in  which  the  interests  of  vital  piety,  and  of 
genuine  revivals  of  religion,  have  not  utterly  perished 
in  Pelagian  hands. 

O  how  different,  my  Christian  friends,  is  this 
scheme  of  doctrine,  from  that  humbling,  yet  eleva- 
ting, and  glorious  plan  of  salvation,  which  shines  so 
clearly  in  the  Bible,  and  which  appears  to  me  to  be 
so  exactly  and  happily  copied  into  our  Confession  of 
Faith!  A  system  Avhich  represents  man  as  univer- 
sally fallen,  depraved  and  guilty,  in  virtu-e  of  his  cove- 
nant connexion  with  "  the  first  Adam;'' — which  exhi- 
bits him  as  an  active,  sentient,  moral  being,  endowed 
with  all  the  faculties  which  constitute  a  free,  respon- 
sible moral  agent;  yet  destitute  of  all  holy  disposi- 
tions, "  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins,"  that  is  insensi- 
ble to  the  glory  of  God,  and  to  all  holy  taste  and  en- 
joyment;— which  describes  him  as  wholly  unable  to 
recover  himself  from  this  state  of  moral  pollution 
and  alienation,  yet  entirely  to  blame  for  this  inability; 
to  blame,  nay  wholly  inexcusable,  for  every  moment 


1  18  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

of   its    continuance;    the  inability  being  altogether 
moral,    and    consequently,  rather   aggravating  than 
excusing  the  spirit  and  conduct  of  the  sinner; — a 
system  which,  while  it  represents   man  as  in  these 
deplorable  ciicumstances,  holds  forth  to  him  a  dis- 
pensation of  rich  and  wonderful  mercy,  through  "  the 
second  Adam,  the  Lord  from  heaven;" — which  pro- 
claims to  a  guilty  world,  a  divine,  almighty,  all-suffi- 
cient Saviour,  who  as  the  covenant  Head  and  Repre- 
sentative   of  his    chosen,  laid   down  his  life  as    an 
atoning  sacrifice  to  satisfy  divine  justice,  and  recon- 
cile us  to  God; — a  sacrifice  abundantly  sufficient  for 
the  whole  v/orld,  but  according  to  the  gracious  pur- 
pose and  sovereign  wisdom  of  God,  made  efficacious 
only  to  those  who  believe; — which  on  the  ground  of 
this  all-sufficient  sacrifice,  sincerely  makes  an  offer  of 
the  Saviour,  with  all  his  benefits,  to  every  one  who 
hears  the  Gospel;  and  that,  not  on  the  ground  that 
those  who  make  the  offer  thus  general,  do  not  know 
who  are  chosen,  and  who  are  not;  but  because  the 
provision  made  by  the   sacrifice  of  the  Redeemer  is 
abundantly    adequate,  and  in    its    nature,  perfectly 
adapted  to  the  case  of  all; — a  plan  which  represents 
the  pardon   and  acceptance  of  the  sinner  as  founded 
solely  on  the  perfect  satisfaction  and  righteousness  of 
the  Redeemer,  received  by  faith,  and  imputed  to  the 
believer;  and  his  regeneration  and  progressive  holi- 
ness, as  produced  entiicly  by  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  on  whose  gracious   power   the   Christian   is 
entirely  dependent,  for  the  commencement  and  con- 
tinuance of  every  holy  exercise.     In  short,  a  system, 
which  represents  the  moral  ruin  and  impotence  of 
man  by  nature  as  entire;  which  maintains  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end,  his  perfect  dependence,  and 


LETTER  VII.  119 

at  the  same  time  his  perfect  freedom  and  respon- 
sibility; and  which  also,  from  the  beginning  to  the 
end,  holds  forth  the  Saviour,  his  love,  his  atoning 
blood,  his  justifying  righteousness,  his  life-giving 
spirit,  as  the  only  hope  of  the  sinner — as  the  Alpha 
and  the  Omega,  the  first  and  last  of  the  whole  plan. 
This,  as  I  read  the  Bible,  is  the  great  evangelical 
system.  And  as  David  said  concerning  the  sword 
of  Goliahj  so  say  I  of  this  system — "  There  is  none 
like  it, — give  it  me."  This  is  "  the  glorious  Gospel 
of  the  blessed  God."  It  may,  no  doubt,  be  preached 
unfaithfully,  or  unskilfully,  as  it  has  often  been  by  its 
professed  friends;  but,  when  proclaimed  in  its  genu- 
ine character,  it  is  "  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation 
to  every  one  that  believeth."  Some,  I  know  have 
said,  that  to  exhibit  the  Gospel  thus  is  to  give  it  a 
"  discouraging"  aspect.  But  I  know  of  no  "  dis- 
couragement" with  which  it  is  chargeable,  except  it 
be,  that  it  discourages  in  the  sinner  all  hope  of  being 
his  own  saviour.  And  this,  I  acknowledge,  is,  to  me, 
one  of  its  strongest  recommendations.  It  humbles 
the  sinner.  It  exalts  the  Saviour.  It  warms,  con- 
soles, and  edifies  the  believer.  This  is  that  "  sword 
of  the  Spirit,"  which,  accompanied  with  the  mighty 
power  of  Him  who  gave  it,  is  destined  to  accom- 
plish the  conquest  of  the  world. 

I  do  not  forget  that  some  of  the  respected  and 
beloved  brethren  who  are  regarded  as  the  advocates 
of  the  doctrines  alluded  to,  tell  us  continually,  that 
they  believe  substantially  as  ive  believe;  that  the  dif- 
ference between  them  and  us  is  chiefly,  if  not  entirely, 
a  difference  of  ivords.  And  is  it  possible,  if  this  be 
the  case,  that  they  will  allow  so  much  anxiety  and 
noise  to  be  created  by  a  mere  verbal  dispute?    Is  it 


120  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

possible  that  they  are  so  intent  on  a  set  of  terms,  as 
to  grieve  multitudes  of  the  pious,  and  run  the  risk  of 
breaking  the  peace  of  the  Church,  for  the  sake  of 
maintaining  a  mere  phraseology?  Surely  they  can- 
not so  lightly  esteem  the  harmony  and  edification  of 
the  body  of  Christ  1  But  whatever  may  be  the  under- 
standing and  the  intention  of  the  leading  preachers 
of  the  doctrines  referred  to,  the  question  is,  how  are 
they  understood  by  others?  What  impression,  when 
preached  as  they  are,  will  they  be  likely,  and  are  they 
found  in  fact,  to  make?  Nothing  can  be  more  cer- 
tain than  that  the  language  of  some  of  these  doctrinal 
statements  is  palpably  Pelagian,  and  some  others  of 
them  Semi-Pelagian;  and  even  if  those  who,  after  all 
they  have  heard  of  the  uneasiness  of  their  brethren, 
still  insist  upon  employing  this  language,  do  not  them- 
selves embrace  the  errors  with  which  it  was  once  con- 
nected; there  is  the  utmost  danger  that  others,  not 
so  discerning  or  so  pious,  will  be  led  astray  by  the 
language  in  question,  and  really  embrace,  in  all  their 
extent,  the  errors  which  it  was  originally  employed 
to  express.  I  am  persuaded  that  ecclesiastical  his- 
tory furnishes  no  example  of  such  theological  lan- 
guage being  obstinately  and  extensively  used,  with- 
out being  found  in  fact  connected  with  Arminian  and 
Pelagian  opinions,  or  at  least  ultimately  leading  to 
their  adoption. 

Besides,  all  experience  admonishes  us  to  be  upon 
our  guard  against  those  who,  in  publishing  erroneous 
opinions,  insist  upon  it  that  they  differ  from  the  old 
orthodox  creed  "  only  in  words.''  This  plan  has 
been  often  pursued,  until  the  language  became  fa- 
miliar, and  the  opinions  which  it  naturally  expressed, 
current; — and  then  the  real  existence  of  something 


Letter  vii.  121 

more  than  a  verbal  difference  was  disclosed  in  all  its 
extent  and  inveteracy.  Such  was  the  course  adopted 
by  Arius^  in  the  fourth  century.  He  and  his  follow- 
ers strenuously  maintained  that  they  differed  in  no 
material  respect — nay  in  terms  only — from  the  ortho- 
dox Church.  But  how  entirely  was  their  language 
changed  when  they  had  gained  a  little  more  power 
and  influence !  The  same  plea  precisely  was  adopted 
by  Pelagius,  and  his  leading  adherents  in  the  fifth 
century,  and  also  by  Cassian^  and  other  advocates  of 
the  Semi-Pelagian  cause,  about  the  same  time.  When 
Arminius  arose  toward  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, he  veiled  his  opinions  by  the  very  same  plea, 
and  by  this  means  succeeded,  for  a  number  of  years, 
in  eluding  ecclesiastical  discipline.  Such  also  was 
the  allegation  of  Cameron  and  Amyraut^  of  France^ 
in  the  seventeenth  century,  when  they  commenced 
that  corrupting  proc<iss  in  the  doctrine  of  the  French 
churches,  which  at  length  issued  in  their  deplorable 
degeneracy  from  the  truth,  and,  indeed,  in  their  final 
ruin.  And,  to  mention  but  one  example  more: — All 
the  world  knows  that  a  similar  plea  was  confidently 
urged  by  our  Unitarian  neighbours  of  Massachusetts, 
when  more  than  twenty  years  ago,  they  were  charged, 
by  some  faithful  watchmen  on  the  walls  of  Zion^ 
with  holding  Arian  and  Soclnian  opinions.  They 
denied  and  resented  the  charge;  denounced  those 
who  brought  it  as  malignant  slanderers;  and  warmly 
contended  that  they  differed  from  the  mass  of  the 
Massachusetts  clergy  chiefly  in  "  words."  If  my 
memory  does  not  deceive  me,  only  one  man  in  the 
whole  commonwealth  was  candid  enough,  when  the 
charge  was  first  published,  to  acknowledge  its  truth. 
But  we  all  know  how  the  affair  issued.     The  worst 

L 


122  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

predictions  of  the  advocates  of  truth  were  seen 
realized^  and  proof  of  the  most  unequivocal  kind 
produced,  that  while  the  truth  of  the  charge  was 
loudly  and  indignantly  denied,  it  had  a  deep-seated 
and  growing  foundation  in  fact.  Shall  these  instruc- 
tions of  experience  be  lost  upon  us?  Shall  examples 
so  numerous  and  decisive  be  contemplated  in  vain? 

I   am  very  far   from    imputing  to  the   respected 
brethren,  to  whose  alleged  opinions  I  now  refer,  the 
insidious  aim  to  conceal  and  deceive,  which  appeared 
but  too  plainly  in  the  long  line  of  errorists  to  which 
I  have  referred.     On  the  contrary,  I  am  bound  t9 
take   for    granted,  and  do    really  believe,   that   the 
greater  part  of  them  have  completely  succeeded  in 
persuading  themselves  that  the  doctrines  specified 
are  truly,  for  substance,  those  which  are  found  in  our 
public  formularies.     Yet  it  is  impossible  for  me  to 
doubt  that  these  brethren  are  labouring  under  an  en- 
tire  mistake^  that   they  are    really,  without   being 
aware  of  it,   teaching   dangerous   errors^    and   like 
men  of  excellent  intentions  who  have  gone  before 
them,  are  laying  a  foundation  for  still  more  serious 
departures  from  the  purity  of  Gospel  truth.     I  am 
not  unacquainted  with  the  ingenious  and  plausible 
efforts  of  distinguished  brethren,  who  advocate  these 
speculations,  to  reconcile  them  with  the  simple  truths 
of  the  Gospel;  and  to  show  that  they  do  not  differ 
from  the  doctrines  taught  on  the  same  subjects  by 
President  Edwards^  by  Witherspoon,   and   by   other 
venerated  fathers  v/hose  praise  is  in  all  the  churches. 
But  the  more  I  read  of  such  efforts,  the  more  I  am 
amazed    and   dissatisfied.     By    a  similar  process   I 
could  prove  that  Freaidtnt  Edwards  and  John  Taylor, 
of  Norwich,  did  not  materially  differ!     Either  Ian- 


LETTER    VII,  123 

guage  has  lost  its  meaning,  or  these  brethren  differ 
essentially  from  the  excellent  men  whose  authority 
they  plead.  I  can  confidently  say,  that  I  have  heard 
preachers  of  my  own  denomination,  with  my  own  ears, 
deliver  sentiments,  and  have  seen  in  print,  tenets 
which  others,  of  the  same  class,  publicly  avowed, 
which  constrained  me,  and  not  me  only,  but  some  of 
the  wisest  and  most  moderate  ministers  in  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  to  say  '*  that  we  had  rather,  much 
rather,  sit  habitually  under  the  ministry  of  a  pious 
Methodist  brother,  with  all  his  avowed  Arminianism, 
than  under  that  of  the  Presbyterian  brethren  alluded 
to."  My  deliberate  judgment  is  in  favour  of  this 
decision.  I  verily  think  that  the  former  would  ap- 
proach much  nearer  to  the  spirit  of  the  Bible  than 
the  latter;  and  be,  in  every  respect  a  more  sober, 
safe,  and  edifying  guide  to  us  and  our  children. 

Our  Church,  as  such,  professes  to  be  a  Calvinis- 
Tic,  Church.  This  name  and  this  character  she  has 
long  borne.  She  is  descended  from  a  Church  which, 
for  a  series  of  generations,  deserves  to  be  called  one  of 
the  noblest  witnesses  for  "  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus" 
that  ever  adorned  the  annals  of  reformed  Christen- 
dom. And  ever  since  her  organization  in  this  coun- 
try, the  daughter  has  acknowledged  and  gloried  in 
the  faith  of  her  transatlantic  mother.  She  has  been 
distinguished  as  Calvinisticj  reproached  as  Calvinis- 
tic5  and,  as  Calvinistic,  has  suffered,  on  some  occa- 
sions, every  thing  short  of  martyrdom  from  an 
ungodly  world,  and  from  professing  Christians,  who 
misunderstood  and  maligned  her  tenets.  Under  this 
"flag"  she  has  bravely  and  successfully  fought.  Shall 
she  now  "  change  her  colours?"  Or  shall  she  retain 
them  ostensibly,  only  to  dishonour  and  betray  them.^ 


124  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

Every  principle  of  fidelity  to  the  God  of  her  fathers^, 
and  of  regard  to  Christian  truth,  and  Christian  ho- 
nour, ought  to  forbid  this.  If  her  public  "  Stan- 
dards" have  not  been  hitherto  correct,  let  them  be 
openly  and  frankly  altered.  But  as  long  as  she  pro- 
fesses to  maintain  them,  let  them  be  maintained  inr 
sincerity  and  good  faith.  Let  not  her  Confession  of 
Faith  speak  one  language  and  her  pulpits  another. 
Let  the  world  be  honestly  informed  what,  as  a  Church, 
she  really  holds.  I  venture  to  predict,  that,  when- 
I  ever  we  abandon  our  doctrinal  testimony,  God  will 
abandon  us.  No  instance,  I  repeat,  can  be  produced, 
in  all  the  records  of  ecclesiastical  history,  in  which  a 
Church,  once  firm  and  zealous  in  maintaining  the 
Calvinistic  system,  gradually  relaxed  from  her  tes- 
timony, and  deviated  into  Pelagian  or  Arminian 
errors,  without,  in  a  great  measure,  losing  her  spi- 
rituality, and  manifesting  that  her  strength  had  de- 
parted from  her.  It  is  true,  the  influence  of  Arminian 
doctrine  has  not  always  been  such  in  churches  origi- 
nally  founded  and  nurtured  in  its  belief.  But  never,  as 
I  believe,  has  the  adoption  of  this  system  succeeded 
to  the  light  and  the  inflaence  of  a  more  scriptural 
faith,  without  being  marked,  very  distinctly  and 
mournfully,  as  a  descent^  rather  than  a  rise  in  the  scale 
of  Christian  prosperity.  This  was  exemplified  in 
Englmid,  in  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
Precisely  in  ])roportion  as  Arminianism  gained  ground 
in  the  established  church,  in  the  time,  and  under 
the  influence  of  Laud^  spirituality  declined,  and  re- 
mained in  a  deplorable  state  for  more  than  a  hun- 
dred years.  And  the  return  to  spirituality,  at  a  later 
period,  in  that  church,  was  notoriously  attended  with 
a  corresponding  return  to  Calvinistic  opinions.    The 


LETTER  VII.  125 

same  general  principle  is  strikingly  illustrated,  and 
mournfully  confirmed  by  the  history  of  the  French 
Protestant  Churches  in  the  same  century.  Just  in 
proportion  as  they  relaxed  from  the  original  doctrines 
of  the  Reformation,  and  extensively  embraced  opi- 
nions nearly  allied  to  the  Semi-Pelagian  system,  they 
declined  in  harmony  and  piety,  and  manifested  that 
their  glory  was  departed.  The  same  fact  notoriously 
appeared  in  the  churches  of  Massachusetts  and  Con- 
necticut^ when,  more  than  a  century  ago,  a  number  of 
their  ministers  manifested  a  tendency  toward  the 
adoption  of  Arminian  opinions.  Who  does  not  know, 
that,  in  almost  every  such  case,  coldness,  formality, 
and  spiritual  barrenness  were,  constantly,  the  ultimate 
result?  To  speak  of  an  Arminian,  at  that  time,  and  in 
that  country,  was  to  speak  of  one  opposed  to  close 
and  faithful  preaching,  and  to  all  fervent  zeal  for  the 
conversion  of  souls.  It  may  be  imagined  by  some  to 
be  a  sufficient  answer  to  this  position,  that  the  very 
reverse  is  now  alleged  to  be  the  fact;  that  those  who 
are  charged  with  Arminian  tendencies  in  doctrine, 
are  among  the  most  fervent  preachers  in  the  country. 
But  we  have  not  yet  seen  the  end.  Let  us  wait  a  few 
years,  and  see  what  the  result  will  be.  It  is  yet  to  be 
decided  Avhether  they  will  sink  down  into  the  coldness 
and  death-like  formality  of  the  Whitbyan  school,  as  a 
great  majority  of  Arminians,  in  every  age,  have  done; 
or  take  the  position  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterians, 
with  their  unscriptural  creed,  and  their  fanatical,  re- 
volting irregularities.  Either  result,  I  am  sure  is 
now  regarded  by  those  worthy  brethren  to  whose  opi- 
nions I  allude,  as  equally  unwelcome  and  improbable. 
It  will  be  seen,  from  the  foregoing  representation, 
that  my  opinion  decisively  is,  that  unless  there  can 

L  2 


126  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

be  some  fraternal  understanding  and  co-operation,  in 
both  sides,  in  adhering  to  our  Doctrinal  Standards, 
our  beloved  Church  must  long  continue  to  be  a  stran- 
ger to  peace.  It  is,  indeed,  very  important  that  the 
brethren  of  what  is  called  the  "  Cld-schoor'  should 
not  be,  as  to  this  matter,  captious,  or  over  rigorous 
in  their  demands;  that  they  should  not  be  perpetually 
and  vexatiously  occupied  in  the  work  of  "  heresy 
hunting;"  that  they  should  not  indulge  the  disposi- 
tion to  make  a  brother  "  an  offender  for  a  word."  But 
it  is  evident  that  this  will  not  be  enough.  If  the  bre- 
thren of  the  "  New-school"  will  persist  in  the  public, 
habitual  use  of  a  theological  language,  which  impar- 
tial judges  consider  as  Pelagian  in  its  obvious  im- 
port;— if  they  will  pay  no  regard  to  the  distressing 
apprehensions  of  multitudes  of  their  brethren,  who 
are  grieved  in  regard  to  this  subject; — if  they  will 
venture,  notwithstanding  all  the  irritability  of  the  pub- 
lic mind  in  relation  to  the  matter,  to  license  and  or- 
dain men  who  give  too  much  reason  to  fear  that  they 
do  not,  ex  animo,  receive  the  doctrines  and  order  of 
our  Church;  and  if,  whenever  a  question  arises,  in 
our  higher  judicatories,  respecting  doctrinal  sound- 
ness, they  will  always  sustain  and  acquit  lax  theology, 
to  whatever  extreme  it  may  go;  I  say,  if  they  will  pur- 
sue this  course,  it  requires  no  spirit  of  prophecy  to 
foresee,  that  growing  alienation,  strife,  and  eventual 
rupture  must  be  the  consequence.  It  is,  indeed,  an 
easy  thing  for  a  minister  accused  of  heresy,  and  af- 
fording too  much  evidence  of  the  fact,  by  ingenious 
refinements,  and  plausible  protestations,  to  render  it 
difficult,  if  not  impossible  for  a  judicatory  to  convict 
him:  and  it  is  easy  for  such  of  his  brethren  as  resolve 
to  screen  him  from  censure,  so  to  varnish  over  his 


LETTER  Vn.  127 

opinions,  as  to  hide,  for  the  present,  most  of  their  de- 
formity. But  is  this  the  policy  of  Christian  fidelity 
and  candour?  Will  such  a  course  be  likely  to  issue 
favourably  to  either  party?  I  trow  not.  It  will  be  to 
no  purpose  that  we  call  ourselves  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  United  States,  if  we  cannot  be  really 
united  in  cordial  attachment  to  the  faith  as  well  as 
the  order  publicly  adopted  by  that  body.  To  retain 
our  name,  while  we  desert  our  standards,  will  not 
long  be  possible^  and  would  be  neither  honest  nor 
useful,  even  if  it  were  possible. 

My  further  remarks  on  the  importance  of  adhering 
to  our  Doctrinal  Standards,  will  be  despatched  in  one 
or  more  letter. 

Princeton,  Feb.  1833. 


128  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

LETTER  VIII. 

Adherence  to  our  Doctrinal  Standards. 

Christian  Brethren, 

Before  I  take  leave  of  the  subject  of  adherence  to 
our  Doctrinal  Standards,  allow  me  to  advert  to  one 
or  two  points,  closely  connected  with  the  general  sub- 
ject, in  relation  to  which  I  cannot  resist  the  impres- 
sion that  sentiments  and  practices  of  more  than 
doubtful  character  have  been  repeatedly  indulged  in 
several  of  our  judicatories.  No  one,  I  trust,  will  sus- 
pect me  of  a  disposition  so  far  to  travel  out  of  miy 
province  as  to  arraign  and  censure  Ecclesiastical 
Bodies  with  which  I  have  nothing  immediately  to  do. 
Far  from  it.  My  only  object  is  to  remark  on  some 
jonnd^Zes,  which,  however  they  are  assumed,  and  acted 
upon,  cannot  fail,  in  my  opinion,  to  lead  to  mischief. 

The  first  of  the  points  to  which  I  refer  is  one  which 
appears  to  me  to  have  a  very  portentous  bearing  on 
the  doctrinal  purity  and  peace  of  our  Church.  I 
mean  the  disposition  which  has  been  avowed  and 
acted  upon,  of  forming  new  Presbyteries  upon  the 
plan  of  what  has  been  called  "  elective  affinity;" — or, 
in  other  words,  where  there  is  a  large  Presbytery, 
comprising  brethren  who  differ  very  materiajly  in 
their  doctrinal  belief,  and  who  find  it  difficult  to  act 
with  harmony  together,  on  account  of  that  difference, 
of  forming  the  members  who  constitute  one  of  the 
parties  into  a  new  Presbytery,  by  themselves,  thus 
enabling  them   to  indulge  their  doctrinal  peculiari- 


LETTER  VIII.  129 

ties,  and  to  pursue  their  favourite  policy  without 
control.  In  the  remarks  which  I  have  to  offer  on  this 
subject,  I  beg  to  be  considered  as  having  no  special 
reference  to  the  act  of  the  last  General  x\ssembly,  by 
which  a  certain  Presbytery  seems  to  have  been  con- 
fessedly divided  upon  this  very  principle.  If  I  had 
been  a  member  of  that  Assembly,  I  am  inclined  to 
think  I  should  have  given  my  vote  for  the  division 
which  was  made;  not,  however,  by  any  means  on  the 
principle  which  was  avowed  by  many  of  the  advo- 
cates of  the  measure;  but  on  an  entirely  different 
ground,  hereafter  to  be  stated.  My  sole  object  is, 
without  any  reference  to  particular  cases,  to  offer 
some  general  remarks  by  which  I  hope  you  will  be 
satisfied,  that  the  whole  scheme  of  forming  new 
Presbyteries  on  the  principle  of  "  elective  affinity," 
involves  an  essential  departure  from  the  spirit  of  our 
constitution;  and,  if  freely  pursued,  must  very  speed- 
ily issue  in  a  painful  and  fatal  division  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church. 

The  theory  of  our  ecclesiastical  constitution,  as 
every  one  who  reflects  on  the  subject,  will  immedi- 
ately perceive,  is,  that  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
though  composed  of  many  parts,  is  one  body.  It 
supposes  a  number  of  individual  churches  and  judi- 
catories all  embracing  the  same  faith;  walking  by  the 
same  rules;  and  agreeing  to  be  governed  by  the 
same  principles  of  truth  and  order;  thus  forming  one 
harmonious  community,  in  which  every  part  is  pre- 
sumed to  agree  with  every  other  part,  and  one  law^ 
spirit,  and  counsel  to  pervade  the  whole.  "  Things 
equal  to  one  and  the  same  thing  are  equal  to  one 
another."  Of  course,  if  every  minister,  and  elder, 
9,nd  deacon,  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  on  becom- 


130  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS, 

ing  such,  subscribe  a  certain  formulary,  the  whole 
body  is  to  be  considered  as  according  with  that  for- 
mulary, which  each  individual  part  has  formally 
adopted;  and,  consequently,  every  part  as  in  har- 
mony with  every  other  part.  In  this  sense,  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  in  a  manner  somewhat  peculiar  to 
herself,  is  one:  not  merely  composed  of  a  number  of 
religious  bodies,  or  worshipping  assemblies,  bearing 
the  same  name^  and  a  general  resemblance  to  each 
other;  but  every  member  and  judicatory  being  in- 
tegral parts  of  the  same  compact  and  organized 
body,  and  each  part  exercising  its  appropriate  and 
definite  share  of  government,  over  itself  and  over  the 
whole. 

This  is  the  theory.  Now  it  is  evident  that  if  there 
be  not  real  harmony,  real  unity  of  spirit  among  all 
these  several  parts,  the  principle  on  which  the  body 
is  constituted,  is  precisely  to  the  extent  to  which  this 
want  of  harmony  exists,  really  abandoned.  If  even  a 
single  subordinate  part,  or  judicatory  does  not  be- 
lieve, and  refuses  to  act,  in  accordance  with  the  rest, 
it  is  plain  that  the  beauty,  the  purity,  and  even  the 
safety  of  the  whole,  may  be  invaded  by  that  one. 
And  if  a  few  more  parts  become  erratic  and  impure, 
their  influence  may  soon  become,  not  merely  unhappy, 
but  fatal.  This  principle  is  not  so  applicable  to  va- 
rious other  denominations.  If  a  single  Independent 
or  Congregational  Church,  or  even  a  single  Congre- 
gational Association,  should  depart  from  the  general 
faith  or  order  which  it  has  been  wont  to  receive,  it 
would,  of  course,  be  regretted  by  the  wise  and  the 
good.  But  as  that  church,  or  that  association  is  an 
independent  and  insulated  body;  has  only  an  advisory 
power,  and  can  take  no  part  in  governing  the  rest  of 


LETTER  VIII.  1  3  1 

her  sisters^  the  mischief  of  her  aberration  might  by 
no  means  be  widely  extended^  at  any  rate,  the  mis- 
chief attendant  upon  it  might  not  be  necessarily  great. 
But  suppose  the  case  to  be,  as  it  actually  is,  and 
must  be,  when  a  similar  occurrence  takes  place  in 
the  Presbyterian  Church.     Suppose  a  Presbytery  to 
be  set  off  on  the  principle  of  "  elective  affinity^"  that 
is,on  the  principle,  that  the  members  who  compose 
it,  were  not  able  to  agree  with  their  brethren  in  doc- 
trinal sentiments;  suppose  that  they  differed  so  widely 
in  this  respect,  not  only  from  their  brethren,  but  also 
from  some  very  material  articles  in  the  Confession  of 
Faith,  as  to  be  no  longer  able  to  act  together  with 
comfort  and  peace;  and  suppose  that  they  wished  for 
a  separate  organization  that  they  might  be  free  to 
indulge  their  doctrinal  peculiarities  in  licensing  and 
ordaining  candidates.  Sec,  without  restraint  or  con- 
flict.    This  may  appear,  to   superficial   thinkers,  a 
very  reasonable  demand,  and  a  very  feasible  expe- 
dient for  terminating  the  evils  of  ecclesiastical  con- 
troversy.    But  let  us,  for  a  moment,  pursue  this  ex- 
pedient to  its  natural  results.     Suppose  this  newly 
organized  Presbytery  to  follow  out  the  principles  of 
its   solicitude,  and  eventually  granted  organization, 
into  a  regular  system  of  corresponding  acts.     Sup- 
pose it  immediately  to  go  to  work,  and  to  be  a  kind 
of  mint,  for  manufacturing  and  sending  forth  among 
the  churches  an  abundance  of  coin  bearing  the  same 
stamp  with  itself.     Suppose,  further,  that  the  princi- 
ple recently  contended  for  be  also  adopted  and  acted 
upon,  viz.  that  whenever  either  a  licentiate  or  an  or- 
dained minister  comes  from  any  Presbytery  with  re- 
gular testimonials,  declaring  him  to  be  in  good  stand- 
ing with  that  body,  he  must,  of  course,  be  received  by 


1  32  LETTERS  To  PRESBYTERIANS. 

any  and  every  other  Presbytery  to  which  he  may  pre- 
sent himself,  without  a  word  of  examination  or  in- 
quiryj  suppose  these  things,  and  is  it  not  manifest, 
that  it  would  be  in  the  power  of  a  single  Presbytery 
of  this  character,  in  a  few  years,  to  ruin  the  Presby- 
terian Church?  Let  such  a  Presbytery  be  regarded 
by  the  public  generally,  as  the  centre  and  patron  of 
lax  theology.  Let  it  be  understood  that  its  mem- 
bers, though  not  all,  or  perhaps  any  of  them,  Pela- 
gians themselves,  will  not  hesitate  a  moment  to  li- 
cense or  ordain  a  Pelagian!  Let  every  individual  in 
the  land  who  dislikes  the  rigid  plan  of  subscription 
to  the  Confession  of  Faith,  and  who  wishes  for  the 
privilege  of  declaring  his  solemn  assent  to  a  system 
of  doctrines  without  believing  them — flock  to  that 
Presbytery  for  license  and  ordination.  Let  a  score 
of  candidates  from  that  mint  be  emitted  into  the 
Church  every  year,  and  by  certificates  be  distributed 
about  among  the  more  orthodox  Presbyteries,  as  in- 
clination or  policy  might  dictate^  and  let  the  doctrine 
be  adopted  that  no  Presbytery  must  hesitate  about 
receiving  such  candidates  as  come  with  "  clean 
papers,"  whatever  degree  of  painful  suspicion  re- 
specting their  soundness  in  the  faith  may  be  enter- 
tained:— let  this  course  be  pursued,  and  it  is  plain 
that  no  long  time  would  be  requisite  to  inoculate  the 
whole  Church  with  the  views  of  this  single  Presby- 
tery, and  that  all  faithful  adherence  to  our  public  for- 
mularies would  be  at  an  end.  I  do  not  say,  for  I  do 
not  believe,  that  there  is  a  single  Presbytery  in  our 
Church  which  is  now  capable  of  acting  in  this  man- 
ner. But  a  supposition  has  been  made  for  the  pur- 
pose of  showing  the  natural  tendency,  and  indeed  the 
unavoidable  operation,  of  the  general  principle  of  set- 


1.ETTER  Vlll.  133 

ting  off  new  Presbyteries  on  the  ground  of  incompa- 
tibility of  doctrinal  belief.  And  if  I  do  not  deceive 
myself,  it  is  clearly  and  directly  adapted  to  destroy 
the  purity  of  the  whole  body. 

There  is  an  incompatibility,  indeed,  which  I  can 
readily  recognise  as  a  valid  reason  for  dividing  a 
Presbytery,  and  erecting  a  new  one  with  a  part  of  its 
members.  I  mean  such  an  incompatibility  of  temper; 
such  an  alienation  of  feeling  among  the  members  as 
renders  it  difficult,  if  not  impossible  for  them  to  trans- 
act the  business  of  the  Church  with  mutual  confi- 
dence and  affection.  For  this  reason,  that  is  on  ac- 
count of  an  evident  incompatibility  of  feeling  which 
rendered  it  wholly  impossible  for  the  members  to  act 
together  with  edification — as  well  as  on  the  account 
of  the  extraordinary  and  unwieldy  size  of  the  Presby- 
tery which  was  divided  by  the  last  General  Assembly, 
I  think  I  should  have  concurred  in  the  general  mea- 
sure of  division,  if  it  had  been  my  lot  to  give  a  vote 
on  that  occasion.  There  was  evidently  a  state  of  feel- 
ing in  the  body,  which,  as  it  respected  some  of  the 
members,  at  least,  had  no  immediate  connexion  with 
doctrinal  discrepance.  To  divide  them  into  two  dis- 
tinct bodies  for  the  purpose  of  affording  relief  from 
this  unhappy  state  of  feeling — was  in  my  apprehen- 
sicn  no  way  inconsistent  with  correct  and  safe  prin- 
ciple; and  really  seemed  to  be  the  only  mode  of 
affording  the  necessary  relief.  But  to  divide,  and  to 
erect  new  Presbyteries  on  the  ground  of  the  existence 
of  such  DOCTRINAL  DIVERSITY  as  that  brethren  cannot 
live  and  act  together; — is,  in  my  opinion,  high  trea- 
son against  the  first  principles  of  Presbyterianism; — 
it  is  to  poison  the  very  fountains  of  our  ecclesiastical 
purity;  and,  for  the  sake  of  avoiding  a  little  present 

M 


134  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

inconvenience,  to  lay  a  train  for  an  explosion  which 
must,  at  no  great  distance  of  time,  rend  the  Church 
in  pieces.  I  contemplate  the  subject,  my  Christian 
brethren,  I  repeat,  not  at  all  with  feelings  excited  by 
the  case  which  occupied  so  much  of  the  time  and  at- 
tention of  the  last  Assembly.  Of  these  I  have  none; 
having  before  intimated,  that,  if  I  had  been  a  member 
of  the  body,  I  should  probably  have  yielded  my  assent 
to  the  general  measure  which  was  adopted.  But 
upon  the  most  impartial  and  dispassionate  view  that 
I  am  able  to  take  of  the  essential  characteristic  of  a 
Presbyterian  Church,  as  made  up  of  many  members, 
all  subject  to  the  same  rules,  and  bound  together  in 
truth,  love  and  authority  by  one  common  Head; — 
the  idea  of  expressly  providing  for  the  encouragement 
and  perpetuation  of  diversity  of  faith  in  her  bosom,  is  de- 
liberately to  conspire  against  her  unity,  and  to  take 
counsel  for  introducing  into  her  very  system  a  prin- 
ciple of  disease  and  self-destruction. 

The  only  other  point  to  which  I  shall  refer  as  ex- 
isting in  our  Church,  and  as  threatening  her  peace, 
is  nearly  the  converse  of  that  which  was  last  men- 
tioned, and  relates  to  the  licensing  of  candidates  for 
the  ministry.  I  knew,  not  long  since,  a  young  man, 
who,  after  being,  for  a  number  of  months,  on  trial  for 
license,  before  a  certain  Old-school  Presbytery,  rather 
more  than  usually  respectable  for  size,  talents,  learn- 
ing and  piety,  was  deliberately  refused  license,  on  ac- 
count of  alleged  immaturity  in  theological  know- 
ledge, and  unsoundness  in  the  faith.  He  immediately 
applied  to  another  Presbytery,  of  the  New-school, 
more  than  a  hundred  miles  off,  by  whom  he  was 
promptly  licensed,  notwithstanding  the  refusal  of  the 
sister  judicatory,  and   with  a  distinct  knowledge  of 


LETTER  VIII.  135 

that  refusal.  Here  you  will  observe,  was  a  departure 
from  the  doctrine  contended  for  in  the  other  case. 
TTiere  it  was  maintained,  that  a  minister  licensed  and 
ordained  by  one  Presbytery,  and  coming  to  another, 
with  "  clean  papers,"  as  a  minister  in  good  and  regu- 
lar standing,  must  necessarily  be  received,  as  rectus 
in  ecdesia,  upon  the  principle  that  the  acts  of  one 
Presbytery  must  be  respected  and  sustained  by  all 
co-ordinate  judicatories.  But  here  it  was  quite  as 
strenuously  maintained,  that  the  judgment  and  act  of 
a  sister  Presbytery  might  properly  be  disregarded. 
In  other  words,  it  seems  to  be  the  doctrine  of  some, 
at  least,  of  our  respected  brethren  of  the  New-school, 
that  where  the  act  of  a  sister  Presbytery  makes  in 
their  favour,  it  is  to  be  sustained 5  but  that  where  it 
makes  against  them,  it  is  to  be  set  at  naught.  It  is 
easy  to  see  that  these  two  doctrines,  though  diametri- 
cally opposite  in  principle,  yet  harmonize  most  per- 
fectly in  one  respect.  So  far  as  they  are  acted  upon, 
they  both  alike  facilitate  the  multiplication  of  candi- 
dates of  a  particular  stamp,  to  an  indefinite  extent; 
and  would  enable,  as  was  before  observed,  a  single 
Presbytery,  if  she  should  be  so  disposed,  to  deluge 
the  Church  with  unsound  ministers,  without  her  sis- 
ter Presbyteries  being  able  to  interpose  any  adequate 
remedy.  While  the  former  would  feel  herself  at 
liberty  to  act  at  her  pleasure;  the  latter  would  be,  if 
I  may  so  express  it,  bound  hand  and  foot;  compelled 
to  receive  all  who  came  to  them  with  regular  testi- 
monials; and  utterly  unable  to  defend  either  them- 
selves or  the  rest  of  the  Church  from  the  encroach- 
ments of  error.  Is  this  right?  Is  it  not  subversive  of 
every  sound  principle  of  ecclesiastical  government.^ 
Is  it  not  adapted  to  destroy  mutual  confidence  among 


136  LETTERS  TO  FRESBYTERIANS. 

judicatories,  who  ought  to  feel  not  only  that  they 
bear  the  same  name,  but  that  they  are  in  truth,  "one 
body  in  Christ,  and  every  one  members  one  of  ano- 
ther?" 

But  the  question  naturally  arises,  what  is  the  pro- 
per remedy  in  cases  such  as  those  of  which  we  have 
been  speaking?  Suppose  an  ordained  minister  in 
good  standing  in  his  own  Presbytery,  to  be  called 
within  the  bounds  of  another,  or  to  wish  for  any 
reason,  to  connect  himself  with  that  other.  And  sup-> 
pose  that,  while  he  presents  the  most  ample  testimo- 
nials of  regular  official  character  from  the  Presbytery 
from  which  he  comes,  a  majority  of  the  members  of 
that  which  he  proposes  to  join,  believe  him  to  be  ma- 
terially unsound  in  the  faith.  What  is  to  be  done? 
Has  the  latter  Presbytery  no  alternative?  Must  we 
consider  her  as  compelled  to  receive  the  candidate  for 
admission  without  inquiry?  If  so,  then,  as  before 
suggested,  a  single  Presbytery  might  poison,  and 
eventually  destroy  the  whole  Church.  She  might 
soon  create  a  majority  of  her  own  way  of  thinking  in 
every  Presbytery  within  her  reach.  It  cannot  be  that 
this  is  the  true  theory  of  Presbyterian  church  go° 
vernment.  By  no  means.  It  is  evident  that  the  Pres- 
bytery to  which  the  candidate  applies  may^  if  she  see 
her  way  clear,  receive  him  at  once,  on  the  faith  of  his 
testimonials,  and,  as  soon  as  he  becomes  a  member 
of  her  body,  proceed  to  arraign  and  try  him,  as  she 
may  any  other  of  her  members,  on  the  charge  of 
heresy.  But  suppose  the  Presbytery  to  which  the 
applicant  comes  to,  foresee,  that  if  she  receives  him 
at  once  to  membership,  he  may,  either  by  artfully 
tampering  with  other  members,  render  process  very 
difficult;  or,  by  adding  one  more  vote  to  a  previously 


LETTER  Viri.  1  37 

large  minority,  obstruct  it  altogether;  would  she  be 
doing  justice  to  the  cause  of  truth  to  receive  him  at 
once,  and  thus  run  the  risk  of  strengthening  the  in- 
terests of  error  within  her  own  bosom,  and  possibly 
of  giving  it  a  predominant  influence?  If  she  dis- 
tinctly foresaw  such  a  result  as  likely  to  ensue,  she 
would  be  not  only  justifiable,  but  bound  in  duty,  to 
decline  admitting  such  an  applicant  among  the  num- 
ber of  her  members.  However  painful  such  an  alter- 
native might  be,  it  would  undoubtedly  comport  with 
the  strictest  rules  of  ecclesiastical  order.  Every 
body,  ecclesiastical  as  well  as  civil,  must  be  consider- 
ed as  having  a  right  to  judge  of  the  qualifications  of 
its  own  members.  It  ought,  indeed,  to  exercise  this 
right  with  great  wisdom  and  prudence;  and  always 
exercise  it  on  its  own  responsibility; — but  exercise 
it,  it  ought  and  must,  or  there  is  an  end  of  all  liberty. 
This  right  is  inherent  in  our  Presbyteries.  When  a 
candidate  for  admission  stands  before  them,  and  his 
testimonials  are  produced  and  read,  a  vote  is  taken 
whether  to  receive  him  or  not.  If  they  have  a  right 
in  this  vote  to  say  yes,  they,  surely,  have  quite  as 
good  a  right  to  say  no.  In  other  words,  the  right  of 
voting  on  the  question  at  all,  necessarily  implies  the 
right  of  voting  either  in  the  affirmative  or  negative, 
as  they  see  cause.  If  they  think  proper  to  say  no; — 
in  other  words  to  reject  him,  any  one  of  several 
courses  may  be  taken.  The  rejected  applicant  may 
simply  withdraw  his  application,  and  take  no  further 
step  in  the  business:  or,  the  Presbytery  which  re- 
jected him  may  represent  the  case  to  that  from 
which  he  came,  and  by  which  he  was  recommended, 
and  may  request  process  to  be  commenced  against 
him:  ©r,  the  rejected  candidate  may  complain  of  his 
M  2 


138  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

non-reception  to  the  Synod,  and  that  body  may  take 
such  order  in  the  case  as  the  rules  and  edification  of  the 
Church  may  appear  to  require.  Two  of  these  courses 
may  appear,  at  first  view,  circuitous^  but  when  we 
consider  the  value  of  harmony  in  an  extended  com- 
munity, and  the  importance,  if  we  would  attain  it,  of 
adhering  to  the  rules  agreed  upon  by  that  community, 
we  cannot  for  a  moment  doubt,  that  the  most  regular 
course  of  proceeding  is  always  the  best,  and  generally 
the  most  easy  and  expeditious. 

While  on  the  subject  of  the  respect  due  from  one 
ecclesiastical  judicatory  to  another;  and  the  neces- 
sity of  their  concurrence  in  maintaining  our  ecclesi- 
astical standards,  if  they  would  promote  either  the 
peace  or  the  purity  of  the  Church;  there  is  a  matter 
of  so  much  delicacy  that  I  scarcely  know  how  to 
speak  of  it,  and  at  the  same  time  of  such  vital  im- 
portance, that  I  dare  not  wholly  refrain  from  speak- 
ing. I  refer  to  some  circumstances  which  have 
attended  the  intercourse  between  our  Church  and  the 
Congregational  Churches  in  New  England.  That 
intercourse  began  with  the  commencement  of  my 
ministerial  life.  I  have  always  been  a  warm  friend 
to  itj  and  should  be  grieved  at  the  occurrence  of  any 
thing  adapted  either  to  interrupt  it,  or  render  it  less 
comfortable.  If  no  such  intercourse  were  already 
constituted,  it  ought  forthwith  to  be  begun.  Those 
who  come  so  near  together  as  the  great  body  of 
the  ministers  of  New  England  and  those  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  ought  undoubtedly  to  know 
and  love  one  another,  and  to  co-operate  in  the  great 
work  of  enlightening  and  converting  the  world.  But 
while  the  intercourse  in  question  is  delightful  to 
every  pious  heart,  and  has  been  made,  I  doubt  not, 


LETTER   VIII.  139 

mutually  useful  to  the  contracting  parties,  and  con- 
ducive to  the  extension  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom^ 
both  its  comfort  and  usefulness  cannot  fail  of  being 
painfully  interrupted,  unless  care  be  taken  to  guard 
against  some  of  those  sources  of  misunderstanding, 
which,  however  small  they  may  appear  in  the  begin- 
ning, will  assuredly  work  wider  and  deeper  mischief 
as  they  advance. 

The  articles  of  intercourse  between  the  Associa- 
tions of  New  England^  and  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  are  to  be  considered  as  a 
solemn  ecclesiastical  compact,  evidently  intended  to 
promote  harmony,  co-operation,  and  mutual  strength. 
They  secure  the  friendly  reception  of  the  ministers 
and  licentiates  of  each  party  by  the  other;  and  they 
furnish  a  virtual,  if  not  a  formal  pledge,  that  the 
peace,  purity,  and  edification  of  each  other,  will  be 
respected  by  both.  Now  the  spirit  of  these  princi- 
ples seems  to  require  that  each  party  should  abstain 
from  such  acts  as  manifestly  militate  with  the  object 
of  the  compact;  and,  of  course,  that  candidates  for 
the  ministry  which  are  known  to  have  been  rejected 
by  one  party,  should  not  be  received  by  the  other,  and 
immediately  sent  back  to  the  party  which  had  reject- 
ed them,  and  there  claim  reception  under  the  broad 
shield  of  this  compact.  Yet  cases  of  this  kind  have 
occurred  with  a  frequency,  and  painfulness,  which 
cannot  fail  of  being  regarded  with  apprehension  by 
the  friends  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

About  thirty  years  ago,  a  young  man  presented 
himself  to  the  Presbytery  of  New  York,  of  which  I 
was  then  a  member,  to  be  taken  on  trial  for  license 
to  preach  the  Gospel.  In  the  preliminary  examina- 
tion as  to  his  experimental  acquaintance  with  reli- 


140  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

gion,  he  by  no  means  gave  satisfaction.  The  Pres- 
bytery, however,  determined  to  pursue  his  trials  a 
little  further,  and  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  more 
light,  gave  him  several  subjects  on  which  to  produce 
written  compositions.  When  these  were  exhibited, 
it  became  so  perfectly  apparent  to  the  Presbytery 
that  he  was  destitute  of  every  proper  qualification  for 
the  sacred  office;  that  they,  unanimously,  resolved  to 
proceed  no  further  in  his  trials,  and  advised  him  to 
turn  his  attention  to  some  secular  employment.  He 
appeared  to  acquiesce  in  their  decision;  but  in  a  few 
weeks  went  to  Massachusetts;  applied  to  one  of  the 
Associations  in  that  State;  was  promptly  licensed; 
and  immediately  returned  to  the  bosom  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church;  and  presented  himself  as  a  regular 
licentiate  from  Ne20  England,  to  the  Presbytery  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  that  by  which  he  was  re- 
jected. That  Presbytery  felt  itself  bound,  in  courtesy 
(although  the  compact  between  the  General  Assem- 
bly, and  the  General  Association  of  Massachusetts, 
now  existing,  had  not  then  been  formed,)  to  receive 
him  as  a  licentiate  in  good  standing.  He  was  re- 
ceived; M'as  finally  with  much  reluctance  ordained; 
occupied  several  stations  in  the  church,  though  none 
for  any  length  of  time;  and  proved  as  long  as  he 
lived  a  trouble  to  the  judicatories  with  which  he  was 
connected,  and  a  distress  to  all  intelligent  and  consci- 
entious Christians,  for  his  gross  ignorance,  and  la- 
mentable departure  from  the  correctness  of  Christian 
example. 

Nor  does  this  case  stand  alone.  Several  times, 
since  the  date  of  that  to  which  I  have  referred,  can- 
didates for  ordination  in  our  Church,  who  refused 
to  adopt  our  Confession  of  Faith,  and  of  course,  were 


LETTER    VIII.  141 

rejected  by  the  respective  Presbyteries  to  which  they 
applied,  have  gone  forthwith  to  Ntw  Englaad^  and 
there,  with  a  distinct  knowledge  of  their  rejection  in 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  have  been  immedialely  or- 
dained, and  returned  to  its  bosom,  clothed  with  the 
ministerial  character,  and  candidates  for  settlement 
in  Presbyterian  Churches.  Now,  though  it  cannot 
be  said  that  any  formal  engagement  was  violated  by 
these  proceedings^  although  the  Associations  which 
acted  in  these  cases  had  a  perfect  right,  on  the  prin- 
ciples of  their  government,  to  decide  and  act  as  they 
did;  although  I  am  entirely  satisfied  that  they  meant 
to  do  nothing  unfair  or  unfriendly;  and  although  it  is 
not  known  that  any  extensive  mischief  in  fact  result- 
ed from  more  than  one  of  the  cases  in  question:— 
yet  it  is  perfectly  plain,  that  if  similar  proceedings 
should  become  frequent,  heart  burning  and  impaired 
cordiality  must  be  the  consequence.  Indeed,  if  such 
acts  were  to  become  very  frequent,  not  to  say  habi- 
tual, if  our  beloved  and  respected  brethren  of  the 
New  England  Associations  were  to  allow  themselves 
to  license  and  ordain  without  reserve,  rejected  fugi- 
tives from  our  Presbyteries — they  might  essentially 
weaken  our  hands;  nay,  they  might  absolutely  destroy 
the  discipline  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  render 
the  articles  of  agreement  in  question,  a  curse  instead 
of  a  blessingv 

It  ought  to  be  known  that  this  is  not  a  new  diffi- 
culty. It  is  not  a  matter  of  complaint  to  which  the 
recent  jealousies  of  conflicting  theologians  have,  for 
the  first  time,  given  rise.  More  than  seventy  years 
ago,  the  same  evil  was  felt  and  remonstrated  against. 
The  following  extract  from  the  proceedings  of  the 
Synod  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  then  the  high^ 


142  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

est  judicatory  of  our  Church,  at  its  sessions  in  1764, 
will  at  once  explain  and  confirm  my  statement. 

"  Though  the  Synod  entertains  a  high  regard  for 
the  Associated  Churches  of  New  England 5  yet  we 
cannot  but  judge,  that  students  who  go  to  them,  or 
to  any  other  than  our  own  Presbyteries,  to  obtain 
license,  in  order  to  return  and  officiate  among  us, 
act  very  irregularly,  and  are  not  to  be  approved,  or 
employed  by  our  Presbyteries,  as  hereby  we  are  de- 
prived of  the  right  of  trying  and  approving  the  qua- 
lifications of  our  own  candidates.  Yet  if  any  cases 
shall  happen  wherein  such  a  conduct  may  in  some 
circumstances  be  thought  necessary  for  the  greater 
good  of  any  congregation,  it  shall  be  laid  before  the 
Presbytery  to  which  the  congregation  belongs,  and  be 
approved  of  by  them." — Here,  it  will  be  perceived, 
the  conduct  censured  was  applying  to  Eastern  Asso- 
ciations, in  the  Jirst  instance,  to  be  licensed,  "  in  order 
to  return  and  officiate'*  in  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
How  much  louder  would  have  been  the  complaint 
against  those  Associations,  if  they  had  licensed  and 
ordained  candidates  which  had  been  rejected  by  our 
Presbyteries, — knowing  them  to  have  been  rejected, 
with  the  distinct  and  avowed  purpose  of  preparing 
them  to  come  back  and  settle,  or  at  least  to  preach, 
in  Presbyterian  Churches! 

It  is  for  the  purpose  of  averting  evil,  and  of  guard- 
ing against  every  feeling  which  may  threaten  mis- 
chief, that  I  make  these  remarks.  It  is  because  I 
wish  the  connexion  which  exists  to  be  perpetual,  and, 
at  once,  more  pleasant  and  more  beneficial  on  both 
sides,  that  I  speak  thus  of  the  dangers  to  which  it  is 
exposed.  If  there  ever  has  been  an  instance  in  which 
we  have  failed  to  pay  due  respect  to  the  decisions  of 


LETTER  VIII.  143 

any  of  the  Associations  with  which  we  have  a  con- 
ventional intercourse,  it  is  unknown  to  me;  and  if 
such  a  thing  were  to  occur,  I  think  I  should  be  the 
first  to  condemn  it,  and  to  make  a  motion  for  ac- 
knowledging and  repairing  our  fault. 

It  was  in  connexion  v/ith  uneasiness  arising  from 
an  event  of  the  kind  referred  to,  that  the  proposal 
was  made,  and  carried  into  effect,  several  years  ago, 
that  the  delegates  from  the  several  Associations  to 
our  General  Assembly,  and  from  us  to  them,  should 
no  longer  have  a  vote  in  the  decisions  of  those  bodies 
respectively.  The  proposal  came  from  zis,  and  was 
prompted  by  the  following  considerations. 

1.  The  system  of  mutual  voting  by  these  delegates, 
appeared,  on  serious  consideration,  so  far  as  our 
Church  was  concerned,  unconstitutional.  The  form 
of  Government  under  which  the  General  Assembly 
acts,  makes  provision  for  that  body  maintaining  a 
correspondence  with  sister  churches  at  home  and 
abroad;  but  not  for  receiving  their  members  into  au- 
thoritative co-operation  with  us.  It  declares  very  ex- 
plicitly, in  what  manner  the  General  Assembly  sha'4 
be  constituted  by  the  ministers  and  ruling  Elders 
from  the  several  Presbyteries;  but  opens  no  door  for 
admitting  to  a  complete  membership  and  vote  any 
other  description  of  persons.  It  was  deemed,  there- 
fore, that  our  fathers,  in  forming  this  agreement,  had 
gone  beyond  their  constitutional  warrant,  and  that 
we  were,  of  course,  bound  to  retrace  our  steps. 

2.  Some  years  after  our  brethren  of  the  New  Eng- 
land Associations  had  established  a  conventional  in- 
tercourse with  the  General  Assembly,  the  Associate 
Reformed,  the  Dutch  Reformed,  and  the  German 
Reformed  Churches,  made  overtures  for  establishing 


144  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

a  similar  intercourse; — in  framing  the  articles  of 
which,  although  those  bodies  are  all  strictly  Presby- 
terian, yet,  such  was  their  adherence  to  constitutional 
principles,  that  the  privilege  of  voting  on  the  part  of 
the  delegates  reciprocally  sent  by  each  party,  was 
expressly  precluded.  Accordingly,  for  some  years, 
at  the  meetings  of  our  General  Assembly,  the  singu- 
lar spectacle  was  witnessed  of  all  the  delegates  from 
the  Congregational  Churches  voting  on  every  ques- 
tion; while  those  from  the  Presbyterian  Churches  in 
correspondence  with  us  were  never  permitted  to  vote. 
This  had  so  strange  an  appearance,  that  the  friends 
of  impartiality  and  good  neighbourhood  thought  it 
of  importance  that  all  the  delegates  from  the  corres- 
ponding Churches  should  be  placed  on  an  equal  foot- 
ing. And  as  our  Presbyterian  correspondents  would 
not  consent  either  to  give  or  take  the  voting  power,  it 
was  deemed  most  judicious  to  abolish  it  in  regard 
to  all. 

3.  In  1821,  when  our  Form  of  Government  was  re- 
vised, it  was  judged  best  to  take  away  even  from  our 
own  corresponding  members,  the  right  of  voting.  As 
the  constitution  of  the  Church  had  stood  before, 
when  a  member  of  one  of  our  Presbyteries  happened 
to  be  present  at  the  session  of  another  Presbytery,  he 
was,  commonly  of  course,  invited  to  sit  as  a  corres- 
ponding member;  and  when  he  did  so,  was  allowed 
not  only  to  speak,  but  also  to  vote,  as  if  he  had  been 
a  stated  and  plenary  member  of  the  Presbytery  in 
which  he  held  this  temporary  seat.  On  the  revision 
of  our  Form  of  Government,  in  the  year  just  men- 
tioned, it  was  judged  best,  for  weighty  reasons,  to 
declare,  that  such  corresponding  members  should, 
thereafter,  be  allowed  to  sit  and  deliberate,  but  not 


LETTER  VIII.  145 

to  vote.  In  these  circumstances  it  was  surely  not 
equal  to  continue  to  the  delegates  of  corresponding 
sister  Churches,  a  privilege  which  we  had  delibe- 
rately thought  proper  to  withdraw  from  the  corres- 
ponding members  of  our  own  denomination. 

4.  Finally,  the  General  Assembly  was  deliberately 
brought  to  the  conclusion  that  the  voting  system  of 
the  delegates  from  the  Congregational  Churches 
ought  to  be  abolished,  because  this  power,  as  en- 
joyed in  their  bodies  and  ours,  was  by  no  means  of 
equal  potency.  On  the  one  hand,  it  is  well  known 
that  our  General  Assembly  is  a  judicial  bodyj  that 
its  decisions  are  authoritative,  and  bind  the  Churches 
which  are  represented  by  its  members.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is  equally  well  known,  that  the  Gene- 
ral Association  of  the  Congregational  Churches  have 
no  judicial  authority;  that  they  are  only  advisory  bo- 
dies; and,  of  course,  that  a  vote  given  in  them  binds 
no  one,  not  even  those,  strictly  speaking,  who  concur 
in  it.  Here,  then,  is  an  immense  difference  in  the 
potency  of  votes.  In  our  General  Assembly,  if  there 
should  happen  to  be  nearly  a  tie,  a  single  delegate  or 
two  from  an  Association,  if  they  enjoyed  the  privilege 
of  voting,  might  absolutely  turn  the  scale,  and  give 
law  to  the  Church  on  a  most  important  point;  or 
might  be  instrumental  in  deciding  an  interesting 
case  of  discipline  in  a  manner  contrary  to  the  wishes 
of  a  real  majority  of  the  Church.  While  in  the  As- 
sociation, supposing  one  of  our  delegates  to  enjoy  the 
privilege  of  voting,  the  utmost  that  his  vote  could 
avail,  would  be  to  carry  a  question  in  favour  of  giv- 
ing advice.  It  could,  in  no  case  whatever,  carry  with 
it  an  authoritative  power.     To  many  warm  friends 


1  46  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

of  the  intercourse  system,  this  difference  appeared 
too  serious  to  be  disregarded.  The  truth  is,  that  on 
more  than  one  occasion,  while  the  system  of  delegate 
voting  continued,  the  General  Assembly  has  been  so 
nearly  divided,  that,  if  the  votes  from  the  Associa- 
tion did  not  decide  the  vote  of  the  Assembly,  they 
came  very  near  it,  and  might  have  done  so  in  reality. 
Can  it  surprise  any  one  that  such  a  fact  should  be 
regarded  with  some  apprehension?  It  must  be  ac- 
knowledged, indeed,  that  our  Neiv  England  brethren 
have  never  discovered  the  least  disposition  to  take 
the  advantage  of  such  a  power  on  any  occasion;  but 
we  might  easily  conceive  of  a  state  of  things  in  which 
the  enjoyment  of  it  would  be  by  no  means  unattended 
with  hazard. 

My  reasons  for  mentioning  this  subject,  in  the  pre- 
sent connexion,  are  chiefly  two. 

1.  Because  I  am  sensible  that  painful  feelings  have 
been  excited  in  the  minds  of  some  by  the  abolition 
of  the  system  of  delegate  voting.  These  feelings,  I 
am  confident,  could  never  have  been  indulged,  if  the 
whole  subject,  in  all  its  bearings,  had  been  well  un- 
derstood. 

2.  Because  I  am  more  and  more  convinced  that  if 
the  intercourse  in  question  is  to  be  maintained  with 
comfort,  and  to  edification,  it  will  be  of  great  im- 
portance that  the  rules  and  feelings  of  each  party  be, 
in  all  cases  in  which  it  is  practicable,  affectionately 
respected.  Those  families  which  the  providence  of 
God  has  placed  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  each 
other,  and  whose  circumstances  give  rise  to  much 
intercourse,  must  habitually  consult  the  feelings  and 
interests  of  one  another,  if  they  desire  to  dwell  toge- 
ther in  peace.     Long,  very  long  may  the  correspond- 


LETTER    VIII.  147 

ence  between  our  Neiv  England  brethren  and  our- 
selves continue!  And,  henceforth,  may  there  be  no 
other  strife  between  us  than  who  shall  love  one  ano- 
ther, and  our  common  Master  with  the  most  fervent 
affection,  and  who  shall  do  most  for  the  conversion 
of  the  world  to  the  knowledge  and  likeness  of  that 
Master! 

And,  by  the  way,  while  speaking  of  our  New  Eng- 
land brethren,  it  gives  me  unfeigned  pleasure  to 
know^  that  a  large  portion  of  the  most  enlightened, 
venerable  and  pious  of  the  clergy  in  that  part  of  the 
United  States,  lament  and  deprecate,  as  much  as  any 
individual  in  our  Church  can  do,  the  disposition 
which  has  been  manifested  by  some  to  propagate  the 
Pelagianizing  sentiments  alluded  to  in  a  former  letter. 
It  will,  indeed,  be  deeply  to  be  deplored,  if,  while 
these  excellent  men  are  frowning  upon  this  pes- 
tiferous system,  within  their  own  bosom,  and  regard- 
ing its  patrons  as  dangerous  corruptors  of  truth;  it 
should  find  countenance  in  any  of  the  judicatories  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church!  Nothing  more,  I  am  per- 
suaded, is  necessary,  under  God,  to  save  us  from  this 
calamity,  than  a  fraternal  understanding  and  co- 
operation among  that  large  majority  of  the  "  New- 
school"  ranks  in  our  body,  who  are  known  to  repro- 
bate the  philosophical  deceits  in  question.  If  they 
will  faithfully  unite  in  setting  their  faces  against  these 
erroneous  opinions,  and  withholding  their  licensing 
and  ordaining  suffrages  from  all  who  avow  them, 
they  may  become  happily  instrumental  in  harmoniz- 
ing the  Church,  as  well  as  promoting  its  purity.  It 
is  in  their  power,  humanly  speaking,  to  do  more  for 
the  peace  and  edification  of  our  beloved  department 
of  Zion,  than  in  that  of  any  other  equal  number  of  in- 


148  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

dividuals  in  our  communion.  If,  however,  these  re- 
spected brethren  of  the  "  New-school,"  who  are  the 
real  friends  of  substantial  orthodoxy,  should  indulge 
their  party  feelings  to  the  uttermost,  and  feel  more 
desirous  to  oppose  and  thwart  those  whom  they  call 
the  "  ultra  orthodox,"  than  to  resist  the  encroach- 
ments of  heresy,  and  the  acts  and  inroads  of  real  dis- 
orders; the  prospect  is  indeed  gloomy;  the  issue  must 
be  disastrous. 

And  now,  my  Christian  brethren,  in  regard  to  ad- 
herence to  the  Doctrinal  Standards  of  our  Church, 
on  which  I  have  so  long  detained  you,  I  have  done.  I 
have  spoken  my  mind  with  the  freedom  of  one  who 
is  conscious  of  an  honest  desire  for  peace,  but  who 
prefers  truth  even  to  peace.  I  have  not  intentionally 
magnified  a  single  evil,  or  inconsiderately  sounded  a 
single  note  of  alarm.  If  I  have  in  the  least  degree 
overstated  facts,  no  one  will  more  cordially  rejoice 
than  m^yself,  to  find  the  overstatement  proved.  And 
now,  at  the  close,  I  ask — what  will  you  do?  The 
question  is  not,  whether,  in  opposing  erroneous  opi- 
nions, you  will  patronise  a  system  of  "  ultra"  rigour, 
of  inquisitorial  strictness.  This  I  have  never  ap- 
proved, and  have  no  wish  to  see  applied.  But  the 
question  is,  whether  you  will  honestly  and  with  good 
faith  maintain  the  system  of  doctrine  which  every 
minister  and  elder  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  has 
solemnly  engaged  to  sustain?  Again  I  ask — what 
WILL  YOU  DO?  Will  you  keep  up  the  "  land  marks" 
which  your  fathers  with  so  much  labour,  and  with  so 
many  prayers  and  tears  erected,  and  bequeathed  to 
you;  or  will  you  abandon  them?  Will  you  adhere, 
as  faithful  witnesses,  to  that  testimony  in  favour  of 
truth,  which,  in  the  old  world  and  in  the  new,  God 


LETTER   VIII.  149 

has  so  signally  blessed  to  the  glory  of  his  Church; 
or  will  you  suffer  it  to  be  trampled  under  your  feet? 
Will  you  call  a  convention  of  the  whole  Church,  and 
attempt  to  alter  your  Confession  of  Faith,  and  to 
make  its  articles  either  so  unmeaning,  or  so  general, 
that  persons  of  every  grade  of  opinion,  short  of  Uni- 
tarianism,  may  honestly  subscribe  it?  An  alteration 
has  been  publicly  proposed,  and  is,  perhaps,  wished 
for  by  some.  Make  the  attempt;  and,  instead  of  re- 
ally mending  this  venerable  and  precious  monument 
of  orthodoxy,  you  will  leave  it  a  disfigured  and  mu- 
tilated carcase,  less  satisfactory  to  any  party  than  it 
is  at  the  present  moment.  Or,  while  it  stands  in 
your  book,  as  an  evidence  of  what  the  Presbyterian 
Church  once  was,  and  still  ought  to  be — will  you  suf- 
fer one  article  of  it  after  another  to  be  nullified,  in 
fact,  by  reckless  subscription,  until  its  whole  dignity 
and  authority  shall  perish  together?  In  other  words, 
will  you  suffer  men  of  coarse  and  ductile  consciences, 
with  the  philosophy  and  the  language  of  Pelagianism 
on  their  lips,  to  be  guilty  of  the  solemn,  dishonest 
mockery  of  subscribing  your  Calvinistic  Creed,  and 
entering  your  judicatories?  If  this  be  admitted,  you 
will  soon  fill  our  beloved  Church  (with  anguish  of 
spirit  I  write  it)  not  merely  with  the  elements  of 
fearful  repulsion  and  explosion;  but,  what  is  unspeak- 
ably more  to  be  dreaded, — with  the  seeds  of  spiritual 
desolation  and  death,  with  which  the  ears  of  every 
Christian  who  hears,  shall  tingle!  Or  finally,  will 
you  faithfully  maintain  that  Creed  in  its  true  spirit 
and  meaning,  and  let  those  who  cannot  honestly  sub- 
scribe it,  seek  a  connexion  with  some  other  portion 
of  the  great  Christian  family?     These  questions  must 

N  2 


150  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

soon  be  decided.  The  crisis  is  approaching.  God 
grant  that  you  may  decide  them  in  such  a  manner  as 
most  effectually  to  promote  his  glory,  and  the  purity 
and  edification  of  our  beloved  Zion. 

Princeton,  February,  1833. 


LETTER   IX.  151 


LETTER  IX. 


Revivals  of  Religion. 

Christian  Brethren, 

When  the  real  Christian  reads  or  hears  of  a  re- 
vival of  religion,  a  chord  is  touched  which  vibrates 
with  pleasure  to  his  heart.  In  no  event  is  a  friend  of 
Christ  more  ready,  instinctively,  to  rejoice,  than  when 
he  is  informed  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  poured  out  in 
lai'ge  measures,  reviving  the  graces  of  the  people  of 
God;  causing  multitudes  anxiously  to  inquire  what 
they  must  do  to  be  saved;  and  many  to  rejoice  in  "  a 
good  hope  through  grace."  Long  may  the  Presby- 
terian Church  be  favoured  with  genuine  revivals  of 
religion,  of  greater  and  greater  power,  in  all  her  bor- 
ders; and  long  may  she  be  blessed  with  ministers  and 
members  who  love  them;  who  pray  for  them  without 
ceasing;  and  who  habitually  and  faithfully  use  those 
means  for  promoting  them,  which  the  Scriptures 
warrant,  and  which  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  is 
wont  to  own  and  bless  I 

This  subject  appears  to  me,  at  the  present  time,  to 
assume  an  aspect  more  than  usually  interesting,  and 
to  indicate  a  most  momentous  connexion  with  the  fu- 
ture. The  frequency,  the  power,  and  the  precious 
results  of  revivals,  in  almost  every  part  of  the  Ame- 
rican churches,  within  a  few  years  past,  cannot  but 
fill  the  hearts  of  intelligent  Christians  with  joy,  while 
they  furnish  a  most  animating  presage  of  the  rapid 
manner  in  which  the  conversion  of  the  world  mav  be 


152  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

expected  to  proceed,  when  "  the  set  time  to  favour 
Zion  shall  come;"  and  a  no  less  gratifying  pledge  of 
the  ease  with  which  the  Head  of  the  Church  can 
solve  that  problem  so  perplexing  to  human  wisdom 
— How  the  number  of  candidates  for  the  ministry 
may  be  so  rapidly  multiplied,  as  in  any  good  measure 
to  meet  the  urgent  and  increasing  demand  for  spirit- 
ual labourers,  both  in  the  domestic  and  foreign  field? 
Let  such  revivals  as  we  have  been  permitted  to  see, 
but  with  augmented  power  and  extent,  visit  the 
churches  year  after  year,  and  fill  all  lands,  and  the 
work  will  be  done.  The  knowledge  and  glory  of  the 
Lord,  without  the  interposition  of  what  we  call  mira- 
cle, will  soon  fill  the  earth;  and  on  every  side  candi- 
dates for  carrying  the  Gospel  from  the  rising  to  the 
setting  sun,  will  be  raised  up,  saying,  with  humble 
readiness  to  spend  and  be  spent  for  Christ — "  Here 
are  we,  send  us."  I  cannot  help  recording  my  con- 
viction that  these  revivals  are  the  hope  of  the  Church 
and  of  the  world.  In  other  words,  the  millennium  is 
at  a  far  greater  distance  than  the  most  pious  and  en- 
lighted  interpreters  of  prophecy  have  supposed;  or 
else  the  conversion  of  the  heathen,  and  of  all  that  are 
afar  off,  must  proceed  in  a  much  more  rapid  manner 
than  it  has  hitherto  done.  I  am  disposed  to  adopt 
the  latter  alternative;  and,  of  course,  to  believe  that 
the  Church  is  warranted  in  looking  and  praying  for 
revivals  of  religion  far  more  extensive,  more  power- 
ful, and  more  glorious,  than  the  present  generation, 
or  indeed  any  other,  has  ever  witnessed. 

This  being  my  impression,  I  cannot  doubt  that  it 
is  the  duty  of  all  professing  Christians,  at  the  present 
day,  to  expect  great  things;  to  ask  for  great  things; 
and  to  employ  with  increasing  diligence  all  the  means 


LETTER  IX.  15S 

which  the  Spirit  of  God  has  warranted,  and  has  pro- 
mised to  follow  with  his  blessing,  for  the  attainment 
of  great  things  in  the  way  of  revivals.  They  are 
solemnly  bound,  in  that  spirit  of  hallowed  enterprise, 
which  becomes  a  new  exigency,  and  new  dawnings  in 
human  affairs,  to  endeavour,  by  augmented  parental 
care  and  diligence;  by  increasing  pastoral  fidelity;  by 
the  more  edifying  example,  and  unwearied  activity  of 
private  Christians  in  their  appropriate  sphere;  by 
prayer  more  humble,  importunate,  and  persevering 
than  heretofore;  and  by  redoubled  efforts  to  sustain 
and  extend  all  those  associations  which  have  for  their 
object  the  reformation  and  conversion  of  the  world; — 
they  are  bound,  I  say,  by  all  these  means  to  endeavour 
to  hasten  the  arrival  of  that  period  when  "  nations 
shall  be  born  in  a  day,"  and  when  multitudes  shall 
flock  to  the  ark  of  safety  "  as  a  cloud,  and  as  doves 
to  their  windows,"  and  when  "  converts  to  righteous- 
ness shall  be  numerous  as  the  drops  of  the  morning 
dew."  In  my  opinion  every  professing  Christian 
ought  to  consider  the  degree  in  which  he  longs,  and 
prays,  and  exerts  himself  for  the  revival  of  religion, 
and  for  the  extension  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom,  as 
affording  one  of  the  most  undoubted  and  unerring 
tests  of  his  piety.  Show  me  a  professor  of  religion 
who  manifests  but  little  zeal  for  these  great  interests, 
and  I  will  show  you  one  who  has  great  reason  to 
"  stand  in  doubt"  of  himself,  and  to  examine,  with 
new  solicitude,  whether  he  has  ever  taken  his  stand 
'•'  on  the  Lord's  side." 

Assuming,  then,  the  unspeakable  importance  of 
this  great  subject,  and  the  obligation  resting  upon  all 
Christians,  not  only  to  desire  revivals,  but  also  to.  be 
actively  engaged  in  promoting  them; — I  beg  leave  to 


154  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

offer  some  general  remarks  on  a  few  points  relating 
lo  the  subject^  and  it  is  my  wish  to  do  it  with  all 
that  caution  and  reverence  which  becomes  every  one 
in  taking  a  step  on  consecrated  ground. 

I.  And  my  first  remark  is,  that  it  is  of  the  utmost 
importance  that  we  be  upon  our  guard  against 
SPURIOUS  revivals. 

If  I  were  called  upon  to  say  what  I  mean  by  a 
genuine  revival  of  religion,  as  distinguished  from  a 
spurious  one,  I  should  draw  the  line  of  distinction  by 
saying,  that  a  genuine  revival  is  one  which  is  pro- 
duced by  the  exhibition  of  gospel  truth,  faithfully 
presented  to  the  mind,  and  applied  by  the  power  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  And  that  all  high  religious  excite- 
ment or  commotion  produced  by  other  means  than 
the  impression  of  truth,  is  the  essense  o^  fanaticism. 
It  is  a  spurious  work,  adapted  to  bring  genuine  revi- 
vals into  disrepute,  and  to  send  a  blast  instead  of  a 
blessing  on  the  Church  of  Godj  and,  of  course,  the 
more  extended  and  powerful,  the  more  to  be  de- 
plored. 

It  is  no  uncommon  or  difficult  thing  to  work  upon 
the  animal  feelings  of  assembled  multitudes,  by  mere 
terror,  by  sympathy,  by  vehement  addresses,  by  fine 
music,  by  a  great  variety  of  means  in  which  Gospel 
truth  is  not  presented,  and  has  no  influence.  Those 
who  are  aware  what  a  "  fearfully  and  wonderfully 
made"  piece  of  machinery  human  nature  is,  and  es- 
pecially how  susceptible  of  strong  and  diversified  im- 
pression are  the  nerves  and  sympathies  of  that  nature, 
will  not  wonder,  though  they  may  not  be  able  fully  to 
explain,  why  such  powerful  effects  flow  from  a  little 
adroit  management.  Who  does  not  know  that  the 
far-famed  fanatical  Unitarians,  who  call  themselves 


LETTER   IX.  155 

"  Chrystians,"  have  their  "  revivals"  of  a  strongly 
marked  character,  their  "  anxious  seats/'  and  all  the 
most  imposing  and  exciting  means  that  have  ever 
been  adopted  for  making  a  popular  impression.  Nay, 
one  of  the  most  active  and  artful  leaders  of  that  sect, 
boasted  that  he  had  drawn  at  least  fifty  persons  to 
anxious  seats,  merely  by  the  influence  of  his  own 
singing,  which  was,  indeed,  remarkably  touching  and 
powerful.  It  is  surely  unnecessary  to  remark,  that 
such  revivals  are  a  disgrace  to  the  name; — that  they 
are  the  fruit  of  animal  excitement  merely;  and  that 
every  enlightened  friend  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom, 
must  mourn  over  their  character  and  tendency. 

It  is  not  mere  excitement  then,  in  which  the  animal 
feelings  of  many  are  roused  and  agitated,  and  in 
which  the  mere  principles  of  nature  are  addressed, 
and  called  into  powerful  action,  that  constitutes  a 
genuine  revival  of  religion.  For,  as  there  can  be  no 
real  piety  in  any  individual  heart,  without  the  recep- 
tion and  love  of  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  the 
Gospel;  so  we  must  estimate  the  real  character  of 
every  religious  excitement  which  claims  to  be  a  re- 
vival, by  the  degree  in  which  pure  Gospel  truth  is 
presented,  embraced,  and  obeyed.  However  wide- 
spread and  powerful  the  excitement  may  be,  it  ought 
ever  to  be  brought  to  this  obvious,  fair,  and  decisive 
test: — Is  it  produced  by  a  blessing  on  the  truth  plainly 
and  faithfully  presented.^  Is  it  throughout  regulated 
by  the  truth?  And  do  its  professed  subjects  manifest 
a  general  and  cordial  love  of  Gospel  truth .^  Are 
their  views  of  the  character  of  God,  of  his  holy  law, 
of  sin,  of  the  ground  of  acceptance,  and  of  Christian 
hope, — I  do  not  say  perfectly — but  in  the  main,  ac- 
cordant with  the  Bible  views  of  those  great  subjects? 


156  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

If  SO,  we  may  hail  the  work  with  joy,  and  bid  God- 
speed to  those  who  are  instrumental  in  commencing 
and  giving  it  direction.  If  the  subjects  of  it,  in  "giv- 
ing a  reason"  of  their  anxiety,  or  of  "the  hope  that  is 
in  them,"  appear  to  be  moved  by  scriptural  views  of 
truth,  addressed  to  the  conscience  and  the  heart; — 
if  in  giving  an  account  of  their  distress  or  their 
peace,  they  manifest  that  their  views  of  themselves, 
of  the  Saviour,  and  of  Christian  confidence  towards 
God,  are  in  substance,  those  which  the  Scriptures 
authorize;  and  if  they  evidently  bring  forth  the  fruits 
of  holy  living, — we  must  denominate  such  a  revival 
a  work  of  God, — thank  him  for  it,  and  rejoice  in  it 
as  a  rich  blessing.  But  if  by  some  strong  excitement, 
addressed  to  the  animal  feelings,  we  could  so  work 
upon  the  nervous  system  of  hundreds,  or  even  thou- 
sands in  a  great  assembly,  as  to  constrain  them  to 
weep,  to  cry  out  with  terror,  to  fall  prostrate,  and  to 
fill  the  house  with  sobbing  and  groans; — if  this  were 
all,  we  must  pronounce  it  a  spurious  work,  the  product 
of  fanaticism  and  not  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

I  am  persuaded,  my  Christian  brethren,  that  this 
is  a  point  of  more  practical  importance  than  is  com- 
monly imagined.  To  say  that  spurious  revivals  are 
of  no  use  to  the  Church  of  God,  is  to  express  but 
a  small  part  of  the  truth.  They  are  a  dreadful 
CURSE  to  any  church.  They  exert  a  most  pestiferous 
influence.  They  deceive  and  destroy  the  souls  of 
men.  They  harden  the  worldly  and  the  infidel  in 
tenfold  obduracy.  They  leave  a  country  over  which 
they  have  passed  arid  and  desolate,  like  that  over 
which  a  raging  fire  has  swept,  and  laid  it  all  a  gloomy 
waste.  I  have  more  than  once  witnessed  strong  and 
extensive  religious  excitements,  evidently  produced 


BETTER  IX.  157 

by  powerful  appeals  to  animal  feeling  and  sympa- 
thy, without  suitable  exhibitions  of  Gospel  truth. 
The  effects  were,  indeed,  plausible,  and  adapted  to 
make  a  deep  popular  impression.  They  did  make 
such  an  impression;  and  were  trumpeted  far  and 
wide  as  "  glorious  revivals  of  religion."  But,  in  a  few 
months,  the  real  character  of  these  excitements  was 
painfully  disclosed.  In  a  great  majority  of  cases  the 
impressions  made,  "  like  the  morning  cloud  and  the 
early  dew,"  soon  entirely  passed  away;  while  the 
small  minority  who  held  out  long  enough  to  make  a 
public  profession  of  religion,  and  some  who,  in  the 
fervour  of  their  first  excercises,  oifered  themselves  as 
candidates  for  the  holy  ministry— soon  made  it  too 
evident,  by  their  unhappy  mixture  of  levity,  igno- 
rance, censoriousness,  and  claims  of  high  attainment, 
that  they  needed  a  new  conversion  before  they  could 
be  fitted  to  adorn  or  to  edify  the  Church. 

I  once  knew  a  minister  who  took  unwearied,  and  I 
<loubt  not,  honest  pains,  to  produce  a  revival  of  reli- 
gion in  the  church  under  his  pastoral  care.  After 
employing  abundant  means,  and  those  of  the  most 
exciting  and  alarming  kind,  he  succeeded  in  collect- 
ing together,  at  the  close  of  a  solemn  evening  ser- 
vice, in  which  a  powerful  impression  seemed  to  have 
been  made,  a  large  number  of  the  professedly  "  anx- 
ious" and  "inquiring"  in  his  session  room.  There 
he  met  and  addressed  them — and  there,  without  say- 
ing one  word  to  them  of  their  guilt  and  misery  by 
nature,  of  Christ,  of  the  Gospel  plan  of  acceptance 
with  God,  of  the  nature  of  evangelical  faith  and  re- 
pentance, or  of  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the 
author  of  all  spiritual  life,  he  spoke  to  them  about 
"resolving  to  be  for  God;" — asked  them  if  they 
o 


158  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

could  not  "  make  up  their  minds  decisively  to  sub- 
mit to  God^" — and  assured  them  that  to  "determine 
in  their  own  minds  to  engage  in  the  service  of  God," 
was  regeneration—was  to  become  a  Christian.  With 
almost  one  consent  they  took  the  seats  assigned  to 
the  "  hoping,"  and  came  out  of  the  room  called,  and 
supposing  themselves  to  be,  "  converted  persons." 
Most  of  them  were  forthwith  hurried  into  the 
Church;  but  in  the  estimation  of  intelligent  Chris- 
tians few  of  them  appeared  to  know  what  they  were 
doing,  or  turned  out  to  be  solid,  established  Chris- 
tians. Of  such  a  revival,  I  should  say,  with  confi- 
dence, it  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  religion  of  the 
Gospel. 

I  repeat  it  then,  experience  proves  that  spurious 
revivals  have  been  mistaken  for  genuine,  and  may  be 
mistaken  for  them  again;  and  that  we  ought  never 
to  recognise  as  genuine  any  revival  which  is  not  pro- 
duced by  the  instrumentality  of  truth,  which  is  not 
regulated  by  the  truth,  and  which  does  not  bring 
forth  the  fruits  of  truth.  All  else  is  fanatical  excite- 
ment. Like  a  fever  in  the  human  body,  it  cannot  fail 
of  leaving  the  system  relaxed  and  debilitated,  when 
it  declines.  Like  counterfeit  money,  it  excites  deep 
doubt  and  distrust  wherever  it  comes,  and  ultimately 
interferes  with  the  circulation  of  genuine  coin.  "  Be- 
loved," says  an  inspired  Apostle,  "  believe  not  every 
spirit,  but  try  the  spirits  whether  they  are  of  God, 
for  many  false  prophets  have  gone  out  into  the 
world." 

IL  Allow  me  further  to  suggest,  the  great  import- 
ance of  GUARDING  AGAINST  ALL  THOSE  DISORDERS  AND 
UNWARRANTED  MEASURES  WHICH  ARE  ADAPTED  TO  AR- 
REST OR  TO  MAR  GENUINE  REVIVALS. 


LETTER    IX.  159 

I  have  sometimes  heard  inconsiderate  querists  ask, 
whether  it  is  possible  that  a  work  which  is  really  of 
God,  should  be  arrested  in  its  progress,  or  marred  in 
its  character,  by  the  weakness  of  man?  This  ques- 
tion may  be  answered  in  the  afBrmative  or  negative, 
according  to  our  understanding  of  its  meaning.  Let 
me  answer  it  by  asking  another.  If  an  individual 
were  deeply  anxious  respecting  his  eternal  interests, 
— and  if,  in  the  midst  of  his  anxiety,  a  large  estate 
were  unexpectedly  left  to  him,  which,  from  its  extent 
and  situation,  was  adapted  to  engross  his  whole  at- 
tentionj — or,  if  he  were  suddenly  engaged  in  all  the 
violence  of  party  politics,  or  some  other  angry  and 
absorbing  contest,  might  we  not  naturally  expect, 
would  not  all  experience  teach  us  to  fear — that  the 
new  and  engrossing  subject  would  soon  expel  all  his 
former  anxiety.^  Even  so,  the  history  of  the  Church 
has  evincedjthat  even  when  a  genuine  and  undoubted 
work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  has  commenced  its  progress, 
in  the  most  promising  manner,  if  gross  disorders  are 
admitted;  if  angry  contentions  arise;  or  if  any  thing 
occur  powerfully  to  distract  or  divide  the  public 
mind;  the  Holy  Spirit  is  wont  to  depart,  and  the 
minds  of  men  to  be  turned  away  from  the  most  im- 
portant concerns,  to  those  subordinate  objects  which 
are  thus  urged  on  their  attention.  In  these  circum- 
stances, where  the  sanctifying  Spirit  has  taken  up 
his  abode  in  any  heart.  He  will  not  be  totally  and 
finally  expelled;  but  by  thousands  who  had  been 
brought  by  his  strivings  to  deep  conviction,  to  pro- 
mising seriousness,  and  to  apparently  sincere  resolu- 
tions, his  influences  have  been  quenched,  and  his 
presence  grieved  away  from  a  people  who  once  ap- 
peared "  not  far  from  the  kingdom  of  God."     Well 


160  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

meaning,  sanguine  Christians,  may  fondly  hope,  that 
if  the  Spirit  of  God  be  really  present,  there  is  nothing 
to  fear.  But  his  own  word,  as  well  as  the  history  of 
his  dealings  with  the  Church,  plainly  shows  that  he 
is  a  Spirit  of  order  and  of  love;  and  that  whenever 
there  is  a  striking  departure  from  either,  there  he 
will  not  remain^  but  will  leave  such  a  people  to 
greater  hardness,  apathy,  and  unbelief,  than  ever. 

Let  any  one  who  really  desires  to  know  the  truth 
on  this  subject,  look  into  the  Apostolical  Epistles, 
especially  into  the  fourteenth  chapter  of  the  first 
Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  and  he  will  there  see  that, 
even  under  the  ministrations  of  inspired  men,  gross 
disorders  creeping  into  a  church  were  found  quite 
sufficient  to  mar  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  to 
impede  the  progress  of  the  truth.  Let  him  look  into 
the  fourth  part  of  the  venerable  President  Edwards* 
"Thoughts  concerning  the  Revival  of  Religion,'* 
which  appeared  in  our  country  more  than  ninety 
years  ago,  and  he  will  perceive  that  that  eminently 
wise  and  holy  man  saw  and  lamented  disorders 
amidst  the  glorious  revivals  which  then  blessed  the 
Church,  and  had  no  doubt  of  the  deplorable  mis- 
chiefs produced  by  them.  Let  him  read  the  ac- 
counts of  the  disorders  introduced  into  New  England 
by  Davenport  and  his  associates,  during  the  great  re- 
vivals under  the  ministry  of  Whitejield  and  his  excel- 
lent coadjutors,  many  years  sincej  and  if  he  have  a 
particle  of  sincere  love  for  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  he 
will  mourn  over  the  evils  which  those  disorders  oc- 
casioned, grieving  the  hearts  of  God's  people,  tear- 
ing the  churches  in  pieces,  and  causing  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  depart,  and  give  them  up  to  strife,  and 
finally  to  coldness,   stupidity,  and   desolation.     Let 


LETTER    IX.  161 

him  notice  with  care  the  extravagancies  and  disor- 
ders which  have  attended  revivals  of  religion  within 
the  last  thirty  years  in  different  parts  of  the  United 
States;  revivals  which  were  in  their  commencement 
highly  promising;  but  which  soon  became  marred, 
disgraced,  and  terminated,  by  various  forms  of  fa- 
natical irregularity,  which  disgusted  intelligent  and 
sober  minded  Christians,  and  hardened  the  enemies 
of  vital  religion  in  deeper  hostility.  I  say,  let  any 
one  who  sincerely  desires  to  know  the  truth  on  this 
subject,  ponder  well  this  recorded  experience  of  the 
Church  of  God,  and  then  say,  whether  it  is  not  both 
reasonable  and  important  to  lift,  in  relation  to  it,  the 
voice  of  warning. 

If  any  desire  to  know  what  the  particular  disorders 
are,  to  which  allusion  is  intended  in  these  references; 
— I  answer,  the  very  same  disorders  which  the  vene- 
rable President  Edwards,  and  other  eminently  wise 
and  pious  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  lamented  and  op- 
posed nearly  a  century  ago,  and  which  wrought  such 
complicated  and  wide  spread  mischiefs  then,  and 
many  years  afterwards.  Such  as  the  excessive  mul- 
tiplication of  public  meetings,  so  as  to  leave  little  or 
no  time  for  the  duties  of  the  family  and  the  closet: 
— continuing  the  exercises  of  such  meetings  to  an 
unseasonably  late  hour,  thereby  deranging  the  order 
of  families,  and  exhausting  both  the  bodies  and  the 
minds  of  the  people:  indulging  in  bodily  agitation, 
groans  and  outcries  in  public  assemblies:  unauthor- 
ized and  unqualified  persons  thrusting  themselves 
forward  to  perform  the  work  of  public  instruction:  a 
number  of  persons  speaking  and  praying  at  the  same 
time:  females  speaking,  and  leading  in  prayer  in  pro- 
miscuous assemblies: — publicly  praying  for  particu- 
o  2 


162  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

lar  individuals  by  name,  as  graceless,  or  opposers  of 
religion:  giving  vent  to  the  language  of  harsh  cen- 
sure, and  of  uncharitable  denunciation,  as  enemies  of 
God,  against  all  who  oppose  these  irregularities: 
urging  the  public  confession  of  secret  sins,  as  indis- 
pensable to  the  attainment  of  a  blessing:  all  these, 
and  many  other  contrivances  of  a  like  kind,  the  ob- 
ject of  which  was  to  produce  strong  excitement,  have 
been  tried  a  hundred  times,  in  various  countries  and 
ages; — have  been  uniformly  found  to  work  ill  in  the 
end; — and  have  been  unanimously  condemned  by  ju- 
dicious Christians  as  unscriptural  and  mischievous. 
They  disgust  intelligent,  reflecting  people.  They 
drive  many  from  the  house  of  God,  and,  perhaps 
harden  them  in  hopeless  infidelity.  And  they  con- 
firm the  prejudices  of  many  against  revivals  altoge-^ 
ther.  And  yet  there  are  those  who  believe  those 
very  means  adapted  to  do  good,  and  who  are  dis- 
posed  to  try  them  again!  The  truth  is,  there  are 
good  people  who  imagine  that  unless  high  popular 
excitement  and  agitation  be  produced,  nothing  desir- 
able is  done.  They  are  ready,  therefore,  to  adopt 
any  new  and  bold  measure  which  promises  to  pro- 
duce the  effect.  Their  delight  is  in  public  excitement^ 
in  producing  effects  on  large  masses  of  people  analo- 
gous to  the  influence  of  strong  drink  on  the  animal 
body:  not  remembering  that,  as  in  the  case  of  strong 
drink,  such  excitement  is  unnatural;  that  it  is  un- 
friendly to  the  calm,  intelligent  and  humble  exercise 
of  Christian  grace;  that  it  cannot  long  continue;  and 
that  it  will  never  fail  to  be  followed  by  morbid  de- 
pression, and  debility  in  the  end. 

But  besides  these  manifest  disorders,  which  have 
so  often  drawn  a  cloud  over  revivals  of  religion,  and 


LETTER  IX.  163 

against  which  judicious  Christians,  it  may  be  hoped, 
will  be  ever  on  their  guard;  there  are  other  "  mea- 
sures," to  which  the  title  of  "  new"  has  been  given, 
of  which  I  beg  permission  to  say  a  word  under  this 
head.  The  principal  of  these  are, — at  the  end  of  a 
warm  and  pungent  discourse — calling  upon  all  who 
are  more  or  less  impressed  by  it,  and  who  have  form- 
ed the  resolution  to  attend  to  the  subject  of  religion, 
to  rise  from  their  seats,  and  declare  their  purpose 
before  the  public  assembly; — or,  requesting  all  who 
are  willing  to  be  prayed  for,  to  rise  and  come  forward 
to  a  particular  part  of  the  church,  and  kneel  together 
for  that  purpose; — or,  inviting  all  who  are  anxious 
about  their  everlasting  welfare,  to  separate  them- 
selves publicly  from  the  rest  of  the  congregation,  and 
to  occupy  certain  seats,  called  "  anxious  seats,"  and 
vacated  for  the  purpose  of  being  thus  filled.  lu 
short,  this  machinery  for  working  on  the  popular 
feeling  may  be,  and  has  been  endlessly  diversified. 
Sometimes  those  who  have  "  obtained  a  hope"  have 
been  requested  to  rise  in  every  part  of  the  house,  and 
signify  it.  At  other  times,  those  who  have  not  yet 
begun  to  cherish  a  hope  of  their  good  estate,  but 
who  resolve  that  they  ivill  attend  to  this  great  subr 
ject,  are  urged,  on  the  spot,  to  signify  this  resolution 
in  the  same  way.  And  sometimes  those  whose  stub- 
born wills  are  not  yet  inclined  to  bow,  and  who  feel 
no  particular  disposition  to  comply  with  the  Gospel 
call,  have  been  requested  to  make  even  this  publicly 
known,  by  either  rising  in  their  seats,  or  leaving  the 
house. 

The  great  argument  urged  in  favour  of  this  whole 
system  of  "  new  measures"  is,  that,  as  the  impeni- 
tent are  naturally  prone  to  stifle  convictions,  and  to 


164  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

tamper  wilh  the  spirit  of  procrastination,  it  is  de- 
sirable they  should  be  prevailed  upon,  as  soon  as 
possible,  to  take  some  visible  step  which  shall  "  com- 
mit them"  on  this  great  subject.  This,  however,  in 
my  opinion,  instead  of  being  an  argument  in  its  fa- 
vour, is  precisely  the  most  powerful  objection  to  the 
whole  system.  •  There  is  no  doubt  that  every  impeni- 
tent sinner  to  whom  the  Gospel  comes,  ought  to  be 
called  to  immediate  repentance j  and  that  all  delay  in 
embracing  the  Gospel  is  as  unreasonable  as  it  is  cri- 
minal. But  of  all  the  subjects  that  can  come  before 
the  human  mind,  suuely  religion  is  that  in  which 
every  step  ought  to  be  taken  without  rashness,  with 
distinct  knowledge,  with  due  consideration,  "  count- 
ing the  cost,'*  and  with  sacred  care  not  to  mistake  a 
transient  emotion  for  a  deep  impression;  or  a  mo- 
mentary paroxysm  of  alarm,  or  of  animal  sympathy, 
for  a  fixed,  practical  purpose  of  the  heart.  If  we  call 
upon  those  who  are  "  anxious"  about  their  eternal  in- 
terest, to  take  certain  seats,  or  to  stand  up  before  the 
public  assembly,  as  a  testimony  of  their  anxiety; — is 
it  wise  in  them  publicly  to  take  such  a  station,  before 
they  know  whether  their  feelings  will  last  an  hour, 
or  pass  away  with  the  first  night's  sleep?  Or,  if  we 
should  call  upon  those  who  have  "  obtained  a  hope" 
in  Christ,  to  nrake  it  known  to  a  large  assembly,  by 
some  prescribed  signal;  would  it  be  right  in  those 
into  whose  minds  this  hope,  whether  genuine  or  spu- 
rious, has  beamed  only  a  few  hours  or  minutes  before 
the  call  was  made,  to  stand  forth  in  this  high  and  re- 
sponsible character,  before  there  was  the  least  op- 
portunity to  put  their  hope  to  a  scriptural  test?  Of 
all  methods  yet  devised,  this  appears  to  me  most  di- 
rectly adapted  to  fill  the  Church  with  rash,  ignorant, 


LETTER  IX.  165 

superficial,  hypocritical  professors,  instead  of  solid, 
intelligent,  truly  spiritual  and  devoted  Christians. 

Nor  is  even  this,  bad  as  it  is,  the  worst.  I  feel 
constrained  to  add,  that  when  this  highly  exciting 
system  of  calling-  to  "  anxious  seats," — calling  out 
into  the  aisles  to  be  "  prayed  for,"  &;c.,  is  connected, 
as,  to  my  certain  knowledge,  it  often  has  been,  with 
erroneous  doctrines; — for  example,  with  the  declara- 
tion, that  nothing  is  easier  than  conversion; — that  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  not  necessary  to  enable 
impenitent  sinners  to  repent  and  believe; — that  if 
they  only  resolve  to  be  for  God— resolve  to  be  Chris- 
tians— that  itself  is  regeneration — the  work  is  already 
done: — I  say,  where  the  system  of  "  anxious  seats," 
8cc.,  is  connected  with  such  doctrinal  statements  as 
these,  it  appears  to  me  adapted  to  destroy  souls  by 
wholesale!  I  will  not  say  that  such  revivals  are  never 
connected  with  sound  conversions;  but  I  will  be  bold 
to  repeat,  that  the  religion  which  they  are  fitted  to 
cherish^  is  altogether  a  different  one  from  that  of  the 
Gospel.  It  is,  I  sincerely  believe,  a  system  of  soul- 
destroying  deception! 

Those  of  you,  my  Christian  brethren,  who  have 
seen  a  highly  instructive  and  interesting  volume  on 
the  subject  of  "  revivals,"  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Sprague, 
of  Albany, — a  volume  which  I  would  earnestly  re- 
commend to  the  careful  perusal  of  every  Presbyterian 
in  the  United  States,  have  no  doubt  been  impressed, 
not  only  by  the  just  and  luminous  views  given  of  the 
subject  before  us,  by  that  excellent  writer  himself; 
but  also  by  the  remarkable  unanimity  of  opinion  on 
the  same  subject,  expressed  in  the  Appendix  to  his 
work,  by  a  long  list  of  eminent  ministers,  of  six  dif- 
ferent Christian  denominations — most  of  them  dis- 


166  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

tinguished  for  their  great  wisdom  and  piety,  as  well 
as  their  ample  experience  in  revivals.  From  the 
communications  of  three  of  the  venerable  men — 
whose  competency  in  every  respect  to  give  testimony 
on  the  sabject  before  us,  will  be  questioned  by  none 
who  know  them — I  beg  leave  to  make  a  few  short 
extracts. 

The  following  is  the  testimony  of  the  Rev.  Presi- 
dent//w7??;;A?'6!3/,  of  Amherst  College,  whose  character 
as  a  tried  friend  of  revivals  is  well  known.  "  If  you 
ask  me,  what  means  and  measures  have  been  most 
eminently  blessed,  in  the  revivals  which  have  fallen 
under  my  own  personal  observation,  in  College  and 
elsewhere,— I  answer,  substantially  the  same  as  were 
'  mighty  through  God  to  the  pulling  down  of  strong 
holds'  in  the  apostolic  age; — the  same  as  were  em- 
ployed by  Edwards,  and  Bellamy,  and  Brainerd,  almost 
a  century  ago.  Meetings  for  personal  conversation, 
commonly  called,  "  inquiry  meetings'^  have  been  held 
weekly,  or  oftener,  with  great  spiritual  advantage,  in 
all  the  revivals  which  have  fallen  under  my  notice. 
The  duty  of  prayer,  both  secret  and  social,  has  been 
earnestly  and  daily  urged  upon  Christians;  but  late 

eetings  have  generally  been  discouraged,  as  inter- 
iring  with  the  religious  order  of  families,  and  tend- 
ing in  a  short  time,  to  exhaust  the  physical  and  men- 
tal energies  of  God's  people,  as  well  as  to  mingle 
"  strange  fire"  with  that  which  is  kindled  from  the 
skies.  When  met  for  social  prayer,  neither  minis- 
ters nor  laymen  have  indulged  themselves  in  loud 
and  boisterous  vociferations,  in  audible  groans,  or  in 
smiting  the  hands  together  in  token  of  their  sincerity 
and  earnestness.  They  have  observed,  that  the  most 
aoisy  waters  are  seldom  deepest;  and  have  laid  more 


LETTER   IX.  167 

Stress  upon  "  fervency  of  spirit,"  than  upon  strength 
of  lungs,  or  muscular  contortions.  With  us  it  has 
never  been  customary,  either  in  our  larger  or  smaller 
religious  circles,  to  pray  for  sinners  who  may  happen 
to  be  present,  by  name,  or  to  indulge  in  equivalent 
personalities.  The  general  tendency  of  such  a  prac- 
tice, it  is  thought,  would  be  detrimental  to  the  cause 
of  piety,  however  different  the  effect  might  be  in  so- 
litary instances.  Females  have  kept  silence  in  all  our 
meetings,  except  such  as  were  composed  exclusively 
of  their  own  sex.  Calling  anxious  sinners  into  the 
aisles,  to  be  addressed  and  prayed  for,  has  not  been 
practised  within  the  circle  of  my  observation;  nor 
have  they  been  requested,  before  the  great  congrega- 
tion, to  come  forward  from  any  part  of  the  house, 
and  occupy  seats  vacated  for  that  purpose; — and 
wherever  such  measures  have  been  adopted,  within 
my  knowledge,  I  believe  the  cause  of  revivals  has 
lost  more  than  it  has  gained  by  them.  It  is  unsafe 
to  argue  from  the  present  effect  of  any  new  system, 
that  it  is  better  than  the  old.  It  may  accomplish 
more  in  a  week,  but  not  so  much  in  a  year.  It  may 
bring  a  greater  number  of  persons  into  the  visible^ 
kingdom  of  Christ,  but  not  so  many  into  his  spiritudi^' 
kingdom.  For  myself,  every  new  revival  of  religion^* 
which  I  am  permitted  to  witness,  serves  to  confirm 
me  in  the  opinion,  that  it  is  safest  to  walk  in  the 
"  old  paths,"  and  to  employ  those  means  and  mea- 
sures which  long  experience  has  sanctioned,  and  in 
the  use  of  which  the  churches  in  this  part  of  the 
land,  have  been  so  greatly  enlarged  and  edified." 

The  Rev.  President  Lord^  of  Dartmouth  Collect — 
in  reference  to  the  same  subject,  has  the  following 
weighty  remarks.     "  In  regard  to  these  revivals  of  re- 


168  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

ligion,  I  think  it  important  to  remark,  that,  in  every 
instance,  they  seemed  the  product  of  the  Spirit's  in- 
fluence silently  affecting  different  minds  with  the 
same  truths,  and  multiplying  the  trophies  of  divine 
mercy.  They  were  an  effect,  and  not  a  cause  of  di- 
vine interposition;  and  except  as  occasionally  ble- 
mished through  human  weakness  and  sinfulness, bore 
the  characteristics  of  the  wisdom  that  is  from  above. 
We  have  known  here  nothing  except  by  report,  of 
the  *  new  measures'  for  building  up  the  kingdom  of 
Christ.  We  have  no  machinery  for  making  con- 
verts; and  we  could  allow  none  to  be  introduced. 
We  should  be  afraid  to  make  or  suffer  an  impression 
upon  the  young  men  under  our  care,  many  of  whom 
will  be  ministers  of  Jesus  Christ — that  the  Gospel 
can  be  helped,  or  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  facili- 
tated by  human  devices.  And  I  think  we  shall  hold, 
on  this  subject,  to  our  general  principles,  too  long 
settled  by  the  experience  of  ages,  and  confirmed  by 
the  blessing  of  God,  attending  the  application  of 
them,  to  be  now  thrown  away  in  the  ardour  of  ques- 
tionable excitements,  or  for  the  love  of  innovation,  or 
even  to  escape  the  imputation  of  being  the  enemies 
of  revivals.  When  shall  the  ministers  and  churches 
of  the  Redeemer  know  effectually  their  proneness  to 
mar  the  beautiful  simplicity  of  the  Gospel,  to  add 
something  of  their  own  inventions  to  its  sufficient 
ordinances;  to  lead  instead  of  following  the  divine 
Providence,  and  to  mistake  their  own  dreaming  for  a 
heavenly  impulse;  to  inflame  the  sacrifice  with  un- 
hallowed fire,  and  to  arrogate  that  power,  and  that 
glory  which  belong  to  God  only.^  I  cannot  tell  you 
how  much  I  sometimes  fear,  when  I  look  abroad  ' 
upon  our  country,  that  Christianity  will  degenerate 


LETTER  IX.  169 

in  our  keeping.  Yet  let  us  hold  to  the  old  founda- 
tions. There  are  many  yet  to  maintain  the  right; 
and  the  recovering  spirit,  we  are  assured,  will  accom- 
plish the  purposes  of  divine  mercy,  will  correct  and 
convert  the  world." 

President  Griffin^  of  Williams  College,  than  whom 
few  living  ministers  have  had  more  experience  in  re- 
vivals, employs,  on  the  same  subject,  the  following 
language — "  Much  has  been  done  of  late,  to  lead 
awakened  sinners  to  commit  themselves,  in  order  to  get 
them  over  that  indecision,  and  fear  of  man  which 
have  kept  them  back,  and  to  render  it  impossible  for 
them  to  return  wiih  consistency.  For  this  purpose 
they  are  called  upon  to  request  public  prayers  by 
rising;  to  come  out  into  the  aisles,  in  token  of  their 
determination  to  be  for  God;  to  take  particular  seats, 
called  in  bad  English,  *  anxious  seats;'  to  come  for- 
ward and  kneel  in  order  to  be  prayed  for;  and  in  very 
many  instances,  to  promise  to  give  themselves  to 
religion  at  once.  For  much  the  same  purpose  con- 
verts are  called  upon  to  take  particular  seats,  and 
thus  virtually  to  make  a  profession  in  a  day,  and  are 
hurried  into  the  church  in  a  few  weeks.  These  mea- 
sures, while  they  are  intended  to  '  commit'  the  actors, 
are  meant  also  to  awaken  the  attention  of  others,  and 
to  serve  as  means  of  general  impression.  I  would  not 
make  a  man  an  offender  for  a  word;  but  when  these 
measures  are  reduced  to  a  system,  and  constantly  re- 
peated;— when,  instead  of  the  former  dignity  of  a 
Christian  assembly,  it  is  daily  thrown  into  a  rambling 
state  by  these  well  meant  manoeuvres; — it  becomes  a 
solemn  question,  whether  they  do  not  give  a  dispro- 
portionate action  to  imagination  and  passion,  and 
lead  to  a  reliance  on  other  means  than  truth  and 
p 


170  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

prayer,  and  on  other  power  than  that  of  God.  I  have 
seen  enough  to  convince  me  that  sinners  are  very 
apt  to  place  a  self-righteous  dependence  on  this  sort 
of  commitment.  *  I  have  taken  one  step,  and  now  I 
hope  God  will  do  something  for  me'' — is  language 
which  I  have  heard  more  than  once.  Against  any 
promises,  express  or  implied,  I  utterly  protest.  If 
they  are  promises  to  do  any  thing  short  of  real  sub- 
mission, they  will  bring  up  a  feeling  that  more  the 
sinner  is  not  bound  to  do.  If  they  are  promises  to 
submit,  they  are  made  in  the  sinner's  own  strength, 
and  are  presumptuous.  The  will,  which  forms  reso- 
lutions, and  utters  promises,  cannot  control  the  heart. 
Sinners  are  bound  to  love  God  at  once;  but  they  are 
not  bound  to  promise  beforehand  to  do  it,  and  rely  on 
their  own  will  to  change  their  heart.  This  is  self- 
dependence.  They  are  bound  to  go  forth  to  their 
work  at  once;  but  they  are  not  bound  to  go  alone. 
It  is  their  privilege,  -and  their  duty  to  cast  themselves 
instantly  on  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  not  to  take  a  single 
step  in  their  own  strength.  In  these  extorted  pro- 
mises there  is  another  evil, — the  substitution  of 
human  authority  for  the  divine.  It  is  right  for 
Christians  to  urge  upon  sinners  the  obligation  of 
immediate  submission,  and  they  cannot  enforce  this 
too  much  by  the  authority  of  God;  but  to  stand  over 
them  and  say, — '  Come,  now  promise;  promise  this 
moment;  do  promise;  you  must  promise;  promise, 
and  I  will  pray  for  you — if  you  dont,  I  wont' — is 
overpowering  them  with  human  authority,  and  put- 
ting it  in  the  room  of  the  divine." 

The  experience  and  wisdom  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Net- 
tliton  in  revivals  of  religion,  for  more  than  twenty 
years  past,  are  well  known  throughout  the  United 


LETTER  IX.  171 

States.  His  testimony  against  the  "  new  measures" 
of  which  I  am  now  speaking  is  strong  and  decisive. 
He  informed  me,  with  his  own  lips,  within  a  few 
weeks,  that  a  short  time  before  he  commenced  his 
career  as  an  Evangelist,  these  very  ''^ measures^"  (call- 
ing upon  people  in  the  public  assemblies,  to  proclaim 
the  state  of  their  minds  by  standing  up,  going  to  cer- 
tain seats — or  kneeling  in  the  aisles  to  be  prayed  for) 
had  been  extensively  employed,  by  the  Rev.  James 
JDaviSf  a  Congregational  minister  in  the  eastern  part 
of  Connecticut,  where  he  (Mr.  N.)  was  subsequently 
called  to  labour^  that  the  ultimate  fruit  of  them  every 
where,  was  fanaticism  and  disorder;  that,  in  more 
than  one  place,  the  spirit  which  they  generated  pre- 
sented such  insurmountable  obstacles  to  all  rational 
and  sober  ministrations,  that  he  was  obliged  to  take 
leave  and  go  elsewhere^  and  that  in  every  period  of 
his  ministry  since,  he  has  found  similar  "  measures" 
invariably  productive  of  the  same  distressing  effects. 
His  judgment,  therefore,  long  since  formed^  tested 
by  miirh  experience  both  in  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
and  in  New  England;  and  rendered  more  and  more 
decisive  by  every  day's  additional  observation,  is, 
that  the  whole  array  of  the  "  measures"  in  question, 
is  opposed  to  the  meekness  and  humility  of  the  Gos- 
pel; that  it  tends  to  nourish  a  spirit  of  ostentation, 
fanaticism  and  censoriousness;  and  that,  although  it 
may  appear  to  be  productive  of  a  greater  number  of 
conversions  in  the  beginning,  a  less  obtrusive  system 
may  be  expected  to  produce  more  genuine  and  more 
abundant  fruit  in  the  end. 

Let  it  not  be  said,  that  calling  out  inquirers  to 
"  anxious  seats"  is  the  only  effectual  method  of  ascer- 
taining who  are  under  serious  impressions,  and  who 


172  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS, 

are  not.     Is  it  not  quite  as  effectual,  and  much  less 
exceptionable,  to  give  a  public  invitation  to  all  who 
are  in  any  degree  seriously  impressed,  or  anxious  to 
remain  after  the  congregation  is  dismissed;  or  to 
meet  their  pastor  the  next  evening,  in  some  conve- 
nient apartment,  for  the  purpose  of  disclosing  their 
feelings,  and  of  being  made  the  subjects  of  instruction 
and  prayer?     Nay,  why  is  not  the  latter  method  very 
much  preferable,  in  every  respect,  to  the  former?    It 
affords  quite  as  good  an  opportunity  to  ascertain  num- 
bers, and  to  distinguish  persons  and  cases.     It  fur- 
nishes a  far  better  opportunity  to  give  distinct  and 
appropriate  instruction  to  particular  individuals.     It 
prevents  the  mischief  of  dragging  into  public  view, 
and  even  into  the  highest  degree  of  publicity,  those 
whose  exercises  are  immature,  and  perhaps  transient. 
And  it  avoids  the  danger  which  to  many,  and  espe- 
cially to  young  people,  may  be  very  formidable;  I 
mean  the  danger  of  being  inflated  by  becoming  ob- 
jects of  public  attention,  and  by  being  forthwith  ad- 
dressed and  announced,  as  is  too  often  the  case,  a& 
undoubted  "  converts.*'     Surely  the  incipient  exer- 
cises of  the    awakened  and  convinced  ought  to  be 
characterized  by  much   calm    self-examination,  and 
much  serious,  retired,  closet  work.     If  there  be  any 
whose  impressions  are  so  slight  and  transient,  that 
they  cannot  be  safely  permitted  to  wait  until  the  next 
evening,  it  will  hardly  be  maintained  that  such  per- 
sons are  prepared  to  "  commit  themselves,"  by  pub- 
licly taking  an  anxious  seat.     And  if  there  be  any 
whose  vanity  would  dispose  them  to  prefer  pressing 
forward  to  such  a  seat  in  the  presence  of  a  great  as- 
sembly, to  meeting  their  pastor,  and  a  few  friends,  in 
a  similar  state  of  mind  with  themselves,  in  a  more 


LETTER    IX.  17S 

private  manner,  the  Church,  I  apprehend,  can  pro- 
mise herself  little  comfort  from  the  multiplication  of 
such  members. 

After  all,  what  is  the  ultimate  effect  of  this  system 
of  "  new  measures,"  as  it  is  commonly  called?  Does  it 
continue,  like  all  the  ordinances  of  God's  own  appoint- 
ment, to  impress  and  to  edify,  from  year  to  year, 
without  abatement  or  weariness?  Not  at  all.  In  those 
places  in  which  the  practice  of  calling  out  the  seri- 
ous, the  anxious,  and  the  hoping  to  the  aisles,  or  to 
particular  seats,  as  habit  or  caprice  may  dictate,  has 
been  most  extensively  and  longest  in  use,  all  experi- 
ence testifies,  that  when  the  novelty  of  the  expedient 
has  worn  off,  its  exciting  character  is  at  an  end;  and 
that  it  soon  becomes  as  powerless  and  inefficient  as 
any  other  old  story.  This  is  notoriously  the  case  in 
many  parts  of  the  western  country;  and  it  will  soon 
be  found  to  be  the  case  in  those  eastern  portions  of 
the  Church  in  which  similar  practices  are  now  in 
high  vogue.  The  truth  is,  things  of  this  kind  cannot 
long  be  tolerated  among  enlightened,  sober-minded 
Christians.  Solid  food  nourishes  the  body,  and 
leaves  it  invigorated  and  comfortable.  But  stimu- 
lating potations  excite  to  morbid  action  only,  and 
that  for  a  time;  and  then  leave  tl;^  system  depressed 
and  wretched. 

But  I  must  postpone  to  one  more  letter  some  fur- 
ther remarks  on  the  subject  of  revivals. 

Princeton,  March.  1833. 


p  2 


174  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS, 

LETTER  X. 

Revivals  of  Religion. 

Christiak  Brethren, 

The  subject  of  revivals  of  religion  is  so  unspeaka- 
bly interesting  and  important,  and  at  the  same  time, 
so  extensive,  that  I  am  persuaded  you  will  not  won- 
der at  my  making  it  the  subject  of  another  letter. 
There  are  several  other  topics  on  which  I  feel  desi- 
rous of  making  a  few  observations. 

III.  A  third  remark  which  I  would  most  respect- 
fully offer,  is,  that,  if  we  desire  to  promote  genuine 
and  salutary  revivals  of  religion,  we  must  not  under- 
value THE  ORDINARY  MEANS  OF  GRACE,  NOR  MAKE  TOO 
COMMON  AND  CHEAP  THOSE  WHICH  MAY  BE  CALLED  EX- 
TRAORDINARY. 

When  the  ancient  people  of  God,  in  their  passage 
through  the  wilderness,  began  to  loathe  the  plain  but 
excellent  manna  which  was  provided  for  them  day  by 
day,  and  to  call  for  some  extraordinary  supply;  we 
find  that,  on  their  request  being  granted,  surfeiting 
and  mischief  were  the  consequence.  So  it  is  with 
respect  to  Zion's  more  spiritual  provision.  When 
new  schemes  for  making  a  popular  impression  begin 
to  occupy  the  public  mind,  a  love  of  excitement  and 
of  agitation  seems  to  take  possession  of  the  people. 
They  begin  to  suppose  that  when  these  are  absent, 
nothing  valuable  is  accomplished.  The  ordinary  ex- 
ercises of  the  Sabbath,  the  weekly  lecture,  the  prayer 
meeting,  and  the   sacramental   table,    are   esteemed 


LETTER  X.  175 

"light  food."  Something  stirring;  something  new; 
something  adapted  to  produce  powerful  excitement, 
analogous  to  that  of  strong  drink,  must  be  present,  or 
all  seems  to  them  vapid  and  uninteresting.  When  a 
spirit  of  this  kind  becomes  prevalent  among  a  people, 
it  augurs  most  unhappily  for  their  spiritual  interest. 
The  object  of  these  remarks  is,  not  to  intimate  that 
extraordinary  means  of  grace  ought  not  sometimes 
to  be  employed;  but  that  they  ought  not  so  to  be  em- 
ployed and  regarded  as  to  place  the  ordinary  means 
which  God  has  appointed  "  in  the  back  ground,"  and 
to  make  the  popular  impression  that  where  these 
alone  are  employed,  little  good  is  to  be  expected. 

To  exemplify  my  meaning:  I  am  a  warm  friend  to 
"  Protracted  meetings."  They  were  evidently  em- 
ployed, on  special  occasions,  under  the  Old  Testa- 
ment economy;  but  they  were  not  made  cheap  by  too 
frequent  recurrence.  They  were  considered  and 
treated  as  special  services.  In  the  days  of  our  blessed 
Lord's  personal  ministry,  we  know  that  He  kept  the 
people  hanging  on  his  lips  for  three  whole  days  in 
succession,  and,  during  the  greater  part  of  this  time, 
large  numbers  of  them  evidently  remained  on  the 
ground  fasting.  In  the  Church  of  Scotland,  protract- 
ed meetings,  on  sacramental  occasions,  were  almost 
universal,  it  is  believed,  for  more  than  a  hundred 
years,  and,  on  many  occasions,  with  richly  excellent 
results.  It  was  on  such  an  occasion  that  a  single 
sermon,  by  the  celebrated  Mr.  John  Livingston,  was 
blessed  to  the  hopeful  conversion  of  five  hundred 
souls.  And  such  protracted  meetings,  have,  beyond 
all  doubt,  been  made  signally  instrumental  in  many 
parts  of  our  own  country,  especially  within  a  few 
years  past,  to  the  commencement  or  the  continuance 


176  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

of  the  most  precious  revivals  of  religion.  Against 
protracted  meetings,  therefore,  as  such,  thus  war- 
ranted and  fortified,  it  is  probable  no  sincere  and  in- 
telligent friend  of  vital  piety  will  venture  to  speak. 
But  are  not  such  meetings  extremely  liable  to  abuse? 
Nay,  is  there  not  reason  to  believe  that  they  have  been 
abused,  and  thus  made  a  hindrance,  instead  of  a  help, 
to  the  cause  of  pure  and  undefiled  religion?  And 
they  may  be  said  to  be  abused,  when  professing  Chris- 
tians begin  to  place  their  chief  dependence  upon  them; 
when  they  look  forward  to  them  with  eagerness,  as 
the  hope  of  the  Church;  when  they  are  made,  as  it 
were,  to  come  in  place  of  an  humble  tender  reliance 
on  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  broken  hearted,  importunate, 
persevering  prayer  for  the  prosperity  of  Zion;  when 
they  even  seem,  as  they  have  sometimes  been,  to  be 
regarded  as  a  kind  of  machinery  which  may  serve  as 
a  substitute  for  personal  religion,  and  persevering  de- 
votion; and,  finally,  they  are  greatly  abused  when 
they  are  resorted  to  so  frequently  by  the  same  people, 
as  to  convert  them  into  stated  means  of  grace,  and 
thus  to  make  the  Sabbath,  and  its  ordinary  privileges 
lightly  esteemed  in  comparison  with  them.  This  is 
a  sore  evil;  yet  it  has  happened;  and  there  is  great 
danger  that  it  will  happen  again.  But  if  my  views 
of  the  nature  of  the  economy  of  grace,  as  well  as  dis- 
tinct information  respecting  the  effects  in  particular 
cases,  do  not  deceive  me,  such  an  abuse  never  can 
happen  without  mischief;  without  such  frowns  and 
desertion  by  the  great  Head  of  the  Church,  as  will 
leave  a  people  chargeable  with  it,  in  a  greater  or  less 
degree,  to  the  coldness,  the  stupidity,  and  the  desola- 
tion of  those  who  are  given  up  to  "  eat  the  fruit  of 
their  own  way,"  and  to  be  "  filled  with  their  own  de- 
vices." 


LETTER  X.  177 

The  truth  is,  men  have  been  prone,  m  all  ages,  to 
lay  more  stress  on  their  own  inventions,  than  on  the 
simple  ordinances  of  Christ.  They  have  honestly, 
but  vainly,  thought  that  the  appointments  of  the 
Head  of  the  Church  were  not  sufficient^  or,  at  any 
rate,  that  they  might  be  added  to,  not  only  without 
sin,  but  with  advantage.  Every  new  device  for  win- 
ning the  attention,  and  exciting  the  mind,  they  have 
been  ready  to  adopts  and  imagined  that  in  doing  so, 
they  "  did  God  service."  This  was,  no  doubt,  the 
origin  of  a  large  number  of  those  human  inventions 
in  the  worship  of  God  which  deform  the.  Romish 
Church.  They  began  early.  They  were  a  long  time 
in  reaching  that  corrupt  and  revolting  maturity 
which  they  now  exhibit.  Good  men,  in  their  pious 
zeal  to  impress  the  multitude,  and  to  bring  souls  into 
the  Church,  invented  device  after  device  for  address- 
ing the  senses,  and  working  on  the  feelings  of  men; 
until  the  piety  of  their  inventors,  and  the  force  of 
habit,  consecrated  these  devices  in  public  estimation, 
as  institutions  of  Christ,  and  gave  them  a  permanent 
place  in  the  apparatus  of  the  Church;  until  one  after 
another  they  built  up  that  mass  of  superstition  which 
forms  the  dire  machinery  by  which  the  "  man  of  sin," 
dazzles  and  deceives  the  simple.  It  is,  moreover,  one 
of  those  notorious  facts,  in  the  history  of  human  in- 
ventions in  the  worship  of  God,  as  humiliating  as  it 
is  striking,  that  after  a  while,  more  stress  is  com- 
monly laid  upon  those  inventions  than  on  the  ordi- 
nances of  Christ.  Uncommanded  festival  and  fast 
days  in  the  Romish  Church  are  commonly  observed 
with  far  more  strictness  than  the  Lord's  day.  And 
many,  if  appearances  are  not  deceptive,  are  beginning 
to  feel  as  if  no  good  can  be  hoped  for  without  pro-^ 


178  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

tracted  meetings,  and  that  they  are  of  far  more  im- 
portance than  the  privileges  of  the  holy  Sabbath. 

I  would  say,  then,  employ  protracted  meetings. 
They  are  fully  warranted,  by  the  example,  as  well  as 
the  spirit  of  the  word  of  God.  But  do  not  make 
idols  of  them.  Do  not  imagine  that  they  have  an  in- 
herent efficacy,  independently  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  to 
produce  a  revival  of  religion.  Resort  to  them  but 
seldom^  not  as  stated,  but  as  extraordinary  means. 
Prepare  for  them  with  much  humble,  importunate 
prayer.  Remember  that,  like  all  other  means,  they 
will  only  be  useful  as  far  as  they  are  attended  upon 
with  a  believing  reference  and  application  to  the  Spi- 
rit of  all  grace.  And  be  careful  not  to  view  or  use 
them  in  any  way  which  will  tend  to  depreciate  in 
your  esteem  the  ordinary  means  of  grace.  What- 
ever or  whoever  does  this,  is  a  great  evil,  and  will 
inevitably  be  followed  by  the  frowns  of  Zion's  King. 

IV.  It  is  of  great  importance  in  revivals  to  guard 

AGAINST  A  SUDDEN  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  CHURCH  OF 
THOSE  WHO  ARE  HOPEFULLY  MADE  THE  SUBJECTS  OF 
CONVERTING  GRACE. 

Until  recently,  the  practice  here  opposed  had  few 
or  no  advocates  among  intelligent,  sober  minded 
Christians.  If  it  be  of  any  importance,  either  to 
themselves  or  the  Church,  that  those  who  are  intro- 
duced to  her  communion  be  sincere  and  enlightened 
believers,  then  it  is,  undoubtedly,  desirable  that,  after 
cherishing  the  hope  that  they  have  become  such, 
they  should  have  some  little  time  to  try  and  know 
themselves,  and  to  become  known  to  the  Church. 
Especially  is  this  caution  highly  important  in  sea- 
sons of  powerful  awakening  and  revival^  when  many 
are  wrought  upon  by  sympathy,  who  are  strangers 


LETTER   X.  179 

even  to  deep  conviction,  much  more  to  a  genuine 
conversion^ — when  many  appear  serious  and  pro- 
mising for  a  while,  but  soon  draw  back,  and  relapse 
into  deeper  carelessness  than  before.  Surely  it  would 
be  unhappy,  in  every  respect,  if  such  persons  were 
encouraged  in  their  first  paroxysms  of  feeling  to  en- 
rol themselves  publicly  as  professors  of  religion! 
Scarcely  any  thing  could  be  more  directly  adapted  to 
fill  them  with  delusive  hopes,  and  prevent  their  ge- 
nuine conversion.  The  truth  is,  the  system  which  I 
have  known  to  be  pursued  by  some  warm  hearted 
and  well  meaning  ministers;  a  system  of  high  animal 
excitement  throughout,  unaccompanied  with  much 
instruction,  and  followed  up  with  admission  to  the 
communion  of  the  Church,  within  a  few  days,  and 
sometimes  within  a  few  hours,  after  the  commence- 
ment of  serious  feelings;  is  undoubtedly  a  system 
adapted  to  deceive  and  destroy  immortal  souls;  to 
fill  the  Church  with  ignorant,  noisy  hypocrites;  and, 
in  the  end,  to  destroy,  at  once,  its  purity  and  its 
peace. 

As  to  the  examples  found  in  Scripture,  which  are 
supposed  to  justify  the  immediate  admission  of  hope- 
ful converts  to  sealing  ordinances — such  as  the 
prompt  baptizing  of  the  Ethiopian  eunuch,  by  Phi- 
lip^ and  the  reception  of  three  thousand  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost,  they  are  manifestly  nothing  to  the  pur- 
pose. The  cases,  when  examined,  will  be  found  to 
have  been  peculiar,  and  not  to  have  admitted  of  de- 
lay;— not  to  say,  that  the  peculiar  state  of  the  Church 
at  that  time  totally  alters  the  aspect  of  such  facts. 
Besides,  no  one  doubts  that  cases  may  be  supposed, 
and  sometimes  actually  arise,  in  which  immediate 
reception  would  be  wise  and  perfectly  safe;  but  the 


180  LETTERS  TO    PRESBYTERIANS. 

question  is,  what  course  is  best  as  a  general  rule? 
What  course  is  adapted  to  fill  the  Church  with  in- 
telligent, solid,  and  truly  sanctified  members?  Is  it 
possible  to  hesitate  respecting  the  proper  answer? 

I  have  been  struck,  and  very  much  gratified  with 
the  remarkable  unanimity  of  opinion  on  this  subject, 
on  the  part  of  the  distinguished  ministers  whose 
communications  appear  in  the  Appendix  to  Dr. 
Sprague's  excellent  "Lectures  on  Revivals,"  before 
mentioned.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Hawes,  of  Hartford,  in  re- 
ference to  this  subject,  speaks  thus:— "It  is  a  great 
error  to  admit  converts  to  the  Church  before  time 
has  been  allowed  to  try  the  sincerity  of  their  hope. 
This  is  an  error  into  which  I  was  betrayed  during 
the  first  revival  among  my  people,  and  it  has  cost  me 
bitter  repentance.  And  yet  none  were  admitted  to 
the  Church  under  two  months  after  they  had  indulged 
a  hope.  It  is  of  great  importance  that  young  con- 
verts, immediately  after  conversion,  should  be  col- 
lected into  a  class  by  themselves,  and  brought  under 
the  direct  and  frequent  instruction  of  the  pastor. — 
^nd  if  they  are  continued  from  four  to  six  months  in  a 
course  of  judicious  instruction,  and  then  admitted  to  the 
Church,  there  is  very  little  danger  that  they  will  af- 
terwards fall  away,  or  that  they  will  not  continue  to 
shine  as  lights  in  the  world  till  the  end  of  life." 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Griffin,  in  speaking  on  the  same  sub- 
ject, expresses  himself  thus: — "The  means  employed 
in  these  revivals  have  been  but  two — the  clear  pre- 
sentation of  divine  truth,  and  prayer — -nothing  to 
work  upon  the  passions,  but  sober  solemn  truth,  pre- 
sented, as  far  as  possible,  in  its  most  interesting  atti- 
tudes, and  closely  applied  to  the  conscience.  We 
have  been  anxiously  studious  to  guard  against  delu- 


LETTER  X.  181 

sive  hopes,  and  to  expose  the  windings  of  a  deceitful 
heart,  forbearing  all  encouragement  except  what  the 
converts  themselves  could  derive  from  Christ  and 
the  promises,  knowing  that  any  reliance  on  our  opi- 
nion was  drawing  comfort  from  us  and  not  from  the 
Saviour.  We  have  not  accustomed  them  to  the  bold 
and  unqualified  language,  that  such  a  one  is  convert- 
ed^  but  have  used  a  dialect  calculated  to  keep  alive 
a  sense  of  the  danger  of  deception.  For  a  similar 
reason,  we  have  kept  them  back  from  a  profession  about 
three  months.'* 

The  ministry  of  few  Pastors  i!i  any  Church  has 
been  more  honoured  by  a  succession  of  powerful  re- 
vivals, than  that  of  Dr.  McDowell,  of  Elizabethtoivn. 
In  the  light  of  his  ample  experience  on  this  subject, 
he  speaks  of  it  in  the  Appendix  to  Dr.  Sprague's 
work,  before  mentioned,  in  the  following  terms:  "We 
have  carefully  guarded  against  a  speedy  admission  to 
the  privileges  of  the  Church.  Seldom  in  times  of  re- 
vival have  we  admitted  persons  to  the  communion  in 
less  than  six  months  after  they  became  serious.'' 

Closely  allied  with  the  too  sudden  introduction  of 
hopeful  converts  to  the  communion  of  the  Church  is 
another  mistake,  as  I  am  constrained  to  regard  it. 
I  mean  calling  upon  such  young  converts,  even  be- 
fore they  have  been  recognised  as  professors  of  reli- 
gion, to  lead  in  public  prayer,  and  even,  in  some 
cases,  to  instruct  the  anxious  and  inquiring,  and  to 
solve  the  perplexities  of  distressed  and  doubting 
souls.  There  are  many  things  which  the  youngest 
converts  may  do,  as  the  proper  fruit  and  evidence  of 
conversion;  and  it  is  desirable,  from  the  earliest  pe- 
riod of  their  spiritual  life,  to  give  them  some  appro- 
priate employment  in  the  new  relation  into  which 


182  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

they  are  brought,  consistent  with  the  retiring  humi- 
lity which  becomes  them.  But  to  set  "babes  in 
Christ"  to  leading  in  public  prayer,  is,  in  most  cases, 
to  engage  them  in  a  service  for  the  performance  of 
which  to  edification,  their  spiritual  knowledge  and 
experience  are  very  seldom  adequate^  and,  what  is 
no  less  worthy  of  regard,  when  young  converts  find 
themselves  called  upon  to  come  forward  in  this  pub- 
lic manner,  there  is  danger  of  their  being  puffed  up, 
and  thus  receiving  precisely  that  kind  of  impression 
which  is  most  apt  to  be  injurious  to  the  young  and 
inexperienced.  I  have  repeatedly  known  young  per- 
sons who,  after  having  undergone  what  had  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  very  decisive  conversion,  were  almost 
immediately  called  upon  to  pray  in  public;  who  ac- 
knowledged, afterwards,  that  their  being  thus  pub- 
licly noticed  filled  them  with  spiritual  pride;  and 
who  subsequently  became  apostates  of  the  most  de- 
plorable and  humiliating  character.  O  how  much 
better  to  have  waited  awhile,  to  see  what  would  be 
the  issue  of  their  exercises,  and  thus  to  have  avoided 
a  train  of  circumstances  which  rendered  their  apos- 
tacy  more  signal,  and  more  injurious  to  the  cause  of 
Christ!  Let  me  say  again,  then,  that  encouraging 
young  converts  to  speak  and  pray  in  public,  in  a  few 
days  or  hours  after  their  hopeful  passage  from  death 
to  life — is  most  seriously  to  endanger  the  edification 
of  those  who  hear  them;  but  it  is  quite  as  likely,  nay 
more  likely,  to  injure  the  converts  themselves.  And 
allow  me  to  say,  that  this  is  especially  the  case  in 
times  of  excitement  and  revival.  Then,  if  ever,  wis- 
dom, prudence,  and  the  best  experience,  are  indis- 
pensably demanded.  Then  rashness,  and  misguided, 
though  well-meant  zeal,  may  do  more   harm  in  a 


LETTER  X.  183 

single  day,  than  years  of  laborious  diligence  can  re- 
pair. 

V.  Further^  the  real  friends  of  revivals  of  religion 
ought  to  be  upon  their  guard  against  the  confident 
allegation,  that  the  preaching  of  certain  new  opi- 
nions IS  alone  favourable  to  revivals^  and  that 
those  who  adhere  to  the  system  of  old  orthodoxy 
cannot  hope  to  be,  in  this  respect,  extensively  if 
at  all  useful. 

This  allegation  has  been  often  and  confidently 
made;  yes,  and  in  the  face  of  multiplied  and  incontro- 
vertible facts,  plainly  establishing  the  contrary,  has 
been  so  often  repeated,  that  many  are  weak  enough, 
or  ignorant  enough,  to  believe  it.  So  that,  with  not 
a  few,  it  has  come  to  be  a  received  opinion,  that 
where  new  opinions  are  not  preached,  no  revivals  are 
to  be  expected.  But  surely,  none  who  have  any  tole- 
rable acquaintance  with  the  history  of  revivals,  can 
be  imposed  upon  by  a  deception  so  palpable  and  dis- 
ingenuous. The  preaching  of  TVhitefield  was  as  free 
from  any  tincture  of  the  new  opinions,  as  that  of  the 
most  rigorous  old  Calvinists  among  us;  and  yet  all 
the  world  knows  that  the  revivals  with  which  his 
ministry  was  crowned  were  more  extensive  and  pow- 
erful than  have  attended  the  ministry  of  any  other 
man  since  his  time.  The  same  remark  may  be  made 
concerning  the  ministry  of  the  Tennents,  President 
DavieSy  Dr.  Finley^  and  a  number  of  other  men  of  si- 
milar spirit  and  usefulness.  That  they  were  guilt- 
less of  either  holding  or  preaching  those  new,  or 
rather  revived  theological  speculations,  which  many 
extol,  and  seem  to  consider  so  peculiarly  potent  in 
their  influence,  all  know  who  have  read  their  printed 
discourses: — yet  how  few  of  those  who  make  the  ar- 


184  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

rogant  claim,  which  I  am  now  opposing,  have  been  fa- 
voLired  with  equal  ministerial  success!  Nor  was  this 
fact,  so  conclusive  against  the  claim  before  us,  by 
any  means  confined  to  former  times.  Many  indivi- 
duals, among  the  living  and  the  dead,  within  the  last 
thirty  years,  might  easily  be  mentioned,  who  preach 
the  same  doctrine  with  Wliitefield,  Tennent  and  Da- 
vleSj  and  have  been  favoured  with  a  success  strikingly 
similar  to  theirs.  Nay,  my  impression  is,  that  no- 
thing would  be  easier  than  to  demonstrate,  that,  in 
every  part  of  our  country,  up  to  the  present  hour,  the 
more  nearly  the  style  of  preaching  has  been  conform- 
ed to  the  general  spirit  of  Whitejield,  Tennent,  Ed- 
wards, Bavies,  and  Bellamy,  the  more  deep,  sound, 
scriptural  and  consistent,  as  well  as  numerous,  have 
been  the  revivals  which  have  followed  its  dispensa- 
tion. Within  the  last  four  or  five  years  it  has  been 
estimated  that  at  least  twelve  hundred  congregations 
within  the  bounds  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  have 
been  graciously  visited  with  revivals  of  religion: — 
and  of  this  number  it  is  susceptible  of  proof,  that  not 
only  a  decided,  but  a  very  large  majority  have  occur- 
red under  the  ministry  of  men  who  rejected  the  new 
opinions.  The  testimonies  to  this  amount  in  every 
part  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  north,  south,  east 
and  west,  are  so  indubitable  and  abundant,  that  no 
one,  it  appears  to  me,  who  is  not  either  wonderfully 
ignorant  of  facts,  or  strangely  blinded  by  prejudice, 
can  resist  the  inevitable  inference. 

It  is  not  denied,  indeed,  that  some  advocates  of 
Old-school  orthodoxy,  appear  to  have  very  little  scrip- 
tural life  and  zeal,  and  very  few  seals  to  their  minis- 
try. And  is  not  this  the  case,  also,  notoriously,  with 
some  individuals  who  are  fierce  advocates  for  New-* 


LETTER    X.  185 

school  opinions  and  measures?  What,  then,  does  a 
fact  of  this  kind  prove?  It  may  give  reason  to  fear, 
that  a  man,  though  repi^feJ  orthodox,  is  really  leaning 
upon  the  crutches  of  antinomian  delusion^  or,  though 
truly  orthodox,  is  a  stranger  to  true  piety:- — or,  that, 
though  truly  pious,  he  is  lacking  in  some  of  those 
qualities  which  seem  necessary  to  prepare  men  for 
usefulness.  I  could  name  New-school  men  whose 
ministry  is  as  strikingly  without  good  fruit  as  that  of 
the  veriest  drone  that  ever  discredited  the  Old-school 
ranks;  yet  I  never  heard  the  most  zealous  advocates 
for  Old-school  principles  allege  this  fact,  taken  alone, 
as  proof  of  the  unsoundness  of  their  creed. 

VI.  Finally;  I  would  put  the  real  friends  of  revivals 
on  their  guard,  against   the  arrogant    claims   of 

SOME  TO  PECULIAR,  NAY,  TO  ALMOST  EXCLUSIVE  SKILL 
AND  POWER  IN  THIS  GREAT  CONCERN. 

It  is  well  known  to  attentive  observers  of  passing 
scenes,  that  claims  of  this  kind  are  by  no  means  un- 
frequent.  We  have  heard  of  both  ministers  and  lay- 
men who  applied  to  one  another,  with  peculiar  com- 
placency and  emphasis,  the  title  of  "  revival-menJ" 
They  openly  claimed  to  possess  some  special  skill  in 
the  art  of  producing  and  conducting  revivals.  They 
were  announced  to  the  churches  in  this  high  and  im- 
posing character;  and  held  themselves  up  to  public 
view  as  persons  to  be  invited  from  place  to  place  for 
the  professed  purpose  of  introducing  religious  excite- 
ments. Nay,  these  men  have  been  known  to  enter 
congregations  without  the  request  or  even  consent  of 
the  pastor;  to  commence  and  pursue  a  system  of 
measures  for  the  accomplishment  of  their  objects, 
without  consulting  him;  to  proceed  altogether  inde- 
pendently of  him, — not  even  asking  him  to  make  a 
Q2 


186  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

prayer;  in  short,  to  reject  entirely  the  co-operation  of 
all  excepting  a  chosen  few;  refusing  to  suffer  minis- 
ters venerable  for  age  as  well  as  piety,  who  were  pre- 
sent, to  take  any  part  with  them,  for  the  avowed  rea- 
son, that  they  were  not  "  revival -men"  or  not  "  up  to 
the  times." 

And  what,  in  many  cases,  has  been  the  character 
of  these  self-styled  "  revival-men?^'  Were  they  gene- 
rally conspicuous  for  their  modesty,  their  meekness, 
their  humility,  their  gravity  and  peculiar  spirituality? 
Did  they  appear  to  be  deeply  acquainted  with  human 
nature,  and  deeply  skilled  in  genuine  Christian  expe- 
rience? By  no  means.  It  may  at  least  be  asserted 
that  this  ^vas  far  from  being  always  the  case;  but 
that,  in  very  many  instances,  rashness,  presumption, 
pride  and  censoriousness,  often  intermixed  with  a 
heartless  levity,  wxre  their  most  prominent  charac- 
teristics. They  appeared,  on  too  many  occasions, 
like  men  vain  of  some  artful  machinery,  in  the  use  of 
which  they  supposed  themselves  to  be  peculiarly  ex- 
pert, to  which  they  looked,  and  on  which  they  de- 
pended for  success,  far  more  than  on  the  spirit  of  a 
sovereign  God.  Nay,  we  have  sometimes  seen  in  the 
front  ranks  of  these  "  revival"  preachers,  young  men 
scarcely  of  age;  of  very  small  knowledge,  and  still 
less  experience,  denouncing  and  condemning,  as  if 
sure  that  "  they  were  the  men,  and  wisdom  would 
die  with  them;"  treating  with  contempt  aged  and 
eminently  devoted  ministers;  ministers  who  had 
themselves  been  brought  into  the  kingdom  of  Christ 
in  powerful  revivals,  and  had  enjoyed  for  many  years 
more  than  usual  experience  in  those  displays  of  hea- 
venly grace; — treating  such  men  as  these  with  con- 
tempt— as  though  they  knew  nothing  of  the  matter, 


LETTER  X.  187 

compared  with  their  own  deep  insight  and  pre-emi- 
nent skill!  The  truth  is,  when  the  thorough-going 
and  highly  rectified  spirit  of  which  I  speak  has  taken 
full  possession  of  any  individual,  young  or  old,  there 
is  no  calculating  on  the  lengths  to  which  it  may  carry 
him;  or  the  wonderful  degree  in  which  it  may  blind 
him  to  the  claims  of  Christian  decorum,  and  even 
sometimes,  alas!  it  would  seem,  to  those  of  Christian 
candour  and  integrity! 

It  is  granted,  indeed,  that  there  are  men  peculiarly 
adapted  to  promote  revivals  of  religion.  Some  minis- 
ters, unquestionably,  preach  the  Gospel  with  more 
spiritual  skill,  clearness,  force,  and  pungency  than 
others.  There  is  in  all  their  sermons,  and  in  all  their 
prayers,  more  instruction,  more  point,  and  more  feel- 
ing and  solemnity,  than  in  those  of  most  of  their  bre- 
thren. They  have  a  deeper  insight  into  the  human 
heart;  know  better  the  avenues  which  lead  to  it;  and 
are  better  versed  in  the  varieties  of  Christian  experi- 
ence than  is  common  even  among  pious  men.  They 
pray  much  for  the  blessing  of  God  on  their  labours; 
and  their  whole  conversation  and  example  out  of  the 
pulpit,  are  eminently  adapted  to  make  an  impression 
in  favour  of  religion  on  all  whom  they  approach. 
These  I  call  true  revival-mex.  If  there  be  men  in 
the  world  peculiarly  adapted  to  promote  genuine  re- 
vivals of  religion,  these  are  the  individuals.  This, 
however,  is  only  saying,  that  men  who  most  resemble 
the  Apostle  Paul,  or  rather  Paul's  Master,  are  most 
likely  to  be  instrumental  in  promoting  real  religion. 
But  th6y  would  be  the  last  men  in  the  world  to  call 
themselves  by  way  of  eminence,  "  revival-men,"  or  to 
favour  such  a  claim  being  made  for  them  by  others. 
Nothing  would  be  more  abhorrent  from  their  minds 


188  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

than  the  thought  of  attaching  that  power  to  their  ma- 
chinery, which  every  page  of  the  Bible,  and  all  the 
experience  of  the  Church,  ascribe  to  the  sovereign 
agency  of  Him  who  has  declared,  "  Not  by  might  nor 
by  power,  but  by  my  spirit  saith  the  Lord." 

A  "  revival  man"  I  do  know,  whose  ministry 
has  probably  been  connected  with  more  numerous 
and  powerful  revivals  of  religion  than  that  of  any 
other  man  now  living: — whose  power  in  such  dis- 
plays of  divine  glory  seems  to  consist,  not  in  noise, 
in  bustling  trickery,  or  in  any  kind  of  artful  manage- 
ment; but  entirely  in  simple,  pungent  exhibitions  of 
Gospel  truth  I  in  representing  to  men  their  true  con- 
dition as  lost  sinners;  in  holding  up  Christ  as  an  Al- 
mighty and  willing  Saviour;  and  in  constantly  re- 
ferring every  thing  to  the  power  and  grace  of  a 
sovereign  God: — who,  instead  of  loving  to  be  called 
a  "  revival  man,"  shrinks  from  such  an  appellation 
with  instinctive  aversion: — who,  instead  of  thrusting 
himself  into  a  congregation,  uncalled,  for  the  purpose 
of  making  a  revival,  has  ever  laboured  to  avoid  every 
thing  which  might,  by  possibility,  wear  such  an  as- 
pect, or  which  might  lead  others  to  claim  for  him  a 
revival-making  power: — who  has  always  been  ob- 
served, V*  henever  he  entered  a  congregation,  whether 
in  a  state  of  excitement  or  not,  to  do  honour  to  the 
pastor,  placing  hhn  forward  on  all  occasions,  and 
while  he  made  unceasing  efforts  to  promote  the  spi- 
ritual welfare  of  the  flock,  hiding  himself^  as  it  were, 
behind  its  appropriate  shepherd: — whose  retiring 
modesty  and  humility  have  ever  been  as  remarkable 
as  his  pious  zeal : — and  whose  success  is  a  standing 
refutation  of  those  who  contend  that  revivals  can 
never  be  expected  to  occur  excepting  under  the  mi- 


LETTER  X.  189 

nistry  of  those  who  preach  the  new  opinions^  and  re- 
sort to  the  neio  7neasures.  May  this  venerated  and 
beloved  brother  be  long  continued  an  ornament  and  a 
blessing  to  the  American  Church !  Though  he  is  not 
connected  with  my  own  particular  denomination,  I 
can  as  cordially  rejoice  in  his  labours  and  success  as 
if  he  were,  and  pray  that  his  spirit  may  fill  the  land! 

But  in  reference  to  this  momentous  subject,  my  re- 
spected friends,  I  must  now  draw  to  a  close.  If  we 
wish  our  beloved  Church  really  to  prosper,  let  us  never 
cease  to  long  and  pray  for  revivals  of  religion.  No 
degree  of  outward  prosperity  can  compensate  for  the 
want  of  these  precious  tokens  of  the  divine  presence. 
Let  no  degree  of  abuse  or  disorder  with  which  they 
have  been  attended,  prejudice  you  against  revivals 
themselves.  Desire  them,  and  pray  for  them  with 
unwearied  importunity.  But  if  we  desire  to  be 
favoured  with  revivals  in  their  genuine  power,  we 
must  never  cease  to  honour  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God, 
and  importunately  to  solicit  his  life-giving  influence: 
and  if  we  would  not  grieve  away  the  Holy  Spirit, 
when  obtained,  v/e  must  lay  aside  all  human  inven- 
tions in  cherishing  his  work; — every  thing  tending  to 
nourish  pride  and  self-confidence; — all  carnal  ma- 
chinery; all  parade,  all  ostentation,  every  thing,  in 
short,  adapted  to  kindle  mere  animal  excitement, 
and  to  bring  animal  feeling  into  collision  with  spi- 
ritual exercises,  or  to  give  it  the  predominance  over 
them.  Let  no  persuasion,  no  plausible  example  pre- 
vail on  you  to  countenance  these  unscriptural  "  mea- 
sures." They  may  promise  much  for  a  time;  but 
they  have  never  failed  ultimately  to  corrupt  and  de- 
press the  cause  of  genuine  piety. 

It  is  deeply  to  be  regretted  that  even  this  hallowed 


190  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

subject  has  not  escaped  the  perversion  of  party 
violence.  Attempts  have  been  made  to  persuade  the 
religious  public  that  a  large  portion  of  our  Church  is 
unfriendly  to  revivals  of  religion.  I  must  cherish 
the  hope  that  this  representation  has  been  rather  the 
result  of  prejudice  than  of  disingenuousness.  I  know 
not  of  a  single  Synod,  or  even  Presbytery  in  our 
whole  body  in  which  revivals  of  religion  are  not  con- 
stantly and  fervently  prayed  for,  and  really  desired, 
and  would  not  be  cordially  welcomed.  I  know, 
indeed,  a  few  individual  ministers  and  churches,  in 
the  minds  of  whom  the  disorders  which  have  really 
occurred,  or  been  reported  to  them  as  occurring, 
in  religious  excitements,  have  created  a  prejudice 
against  the  whole  subject^  just  as,  seventy  or  eighty 
years  ago,  in  the  time  of  Mr.  Davenport,  and  his  fol- 
lowers, the  same  unhappy  cause  produced  a  similar 
effect  on  the  minds  of  many  truly  pious  and  worthy 
men  XhvQ\x^\{o\xt  New  England.  But  let  us  hope  that 
the  prejudice  even  in  such  minds  will  be  but  tempo- 
rary. An  expression  of  sentiment  on  this  subject  is 
coming  in  from  the  aged,  the  pious,  the  wise,  and  the 
experienced,  in  every  part  of  our  land,  most  happily 
and  remarkably  concurring^  and  affording  a  pledge 
of  united  hearts  and  united  prayers  in  behalf  of  a 
GENERAL  REVIVAL,  which  will  do  morc,  I  trust,  to  bind 
together  the  affections  of  American  Christians,  than 
all  the  theories  and  theoretical  persuasives  that  can 
be  urged  by  human  eloquence.  When  the  Spirit  of 
pure,  scriptural  revival  shall  be  "  poured  out  from 
on  high,"  in  its  genuine  manifestations,  and  in  large 
measures  on  our  American  churches — censorious- 
ness  will  die.  Party  violence  will  cease.  The  meta- 
physical refinements  and  subtleties  of  a  delusive  the- 


LETTER  X.  191 

ology  will  be  no  more  heard.  The  Gospel  preached, 
will  be  taken  from  the  Bible,  and  not  from  the  rakings 
of  exploded  heresies.  And  the  hearts  of  Christians, 
instead  of  "  doting  about  questions  and  strifes  of 
words,  whereof  come  envy,  railings,  evil  surmisings, 
and  corrupt  disputings," — ^"  will  be  knit  together  in 
love,"  and  united  in  counsel  and  effort  for  the  conver- 
sion of  the  world.  May  such  a  revival  speedily  bless 
all  our  churches,  and  pervade  Christendom! 

Princeton,  March,  1833. 


192  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

LETTER  XI. 

Adherence  to  Presbyterial  Order. 

Christian  Brethren, 

I  AM  aware  that  when  adherence  to  Presbyterial 
Order  is  urged,  it  is  considered  by  many  as  a  plea  in 
favour  of  a  cold  and  chilling  formality,  at  the  expense 
of  the  more  spiritual  interests  of  the  Church.  On 
this  account,  there  is  not  only  a  prejudice  against  ex- 
hortation on  this  subject,  but  a  prejudice  against  the 
thing  itself,  as  one  which,  in  proportion  to  the  extent 
to  which  it  is  regarded,  is  much  more  likely  to  hin- 
der than  to  promote  the  reign  of  genuine  piety.  That 
this  is  a  prejudice,  and  not  a  wise  judgment,  the  ex- 
perience of  forty  years,  as  well  as  the  judgment  of 
all  ages,  has  fully  convinced  me.  And  it  is  the  de- 
sign of  this  letter  most  respectfully  to  impart  a  few 
thoughts  on  this  subject,  which,  if  they  fail  to  con- 
vince those  who  have  hitherto  adopted  different  opi- 
nions, will,  at  least,  serve  to  explain  why  he  who  now 
addresses  you,  in  common  with  many  of  his  brethren, 
attaches  no  small  importance  to  the  principles  which 
he  would  humbly  recommend. 

It  is  well  known,  that  the  fundamental  principles 
of  Presbyterian  Church  government  are  three: — the 
parity  of  ministers ;— the  government  of  individual 
churches  by  a  bench  of  Elders,  instead  of  the  whole 
body  of  the  communicants; — and  the  union  of  a  num- 
ber of  single  churches  under  representative  bodies  of 
review  and  control.    In  the  first  of  these  principles  we 


i^ETTER    XI.  193 

Egrefe  with  our  Congregational  brethren.  In  the  se- 
cond and  third  we  differ  from  them.  And  I  am  one  of 
the  many  ministers  of  our  body  who  do  sincerely  be- 
lieve that  a  faithful  adherence,  both  to  the  spirit  and 
the  letter  of  our  form  of  government,  in  reference  to 
both  these  points,  is  more  nearly  connected  with  our 
union,  our  peace,  our  purity,  and  our  best  interests  as 
a  Church,  than  is  commonly  imagined.  I  do  not,  how- 
ever, of  course,  expect  this  opinion  to  go  for  any 
thing,  except  so  far  as  it  may  be  sustained  by  solid 
reasons. 

Having,  in  a  separate  volume,  published  nearly  two 
years  ago,  treated  at  large  of  the  office  of  the  Ruling 
Elder ^  as  founded  in  Apostolic  usage,  and  as  essential 
to  the  intelligence,  tranquil  and  orderly  government 
of  the  Chuixh,  I  shall  not  dwell  particularly  on  that 
subject  at  present^  but  shall  confine  myself  chiefly  to 
the  importance  of  adhering  to  that  system  of  rules 
and  regulations,  which,  as  a  body,  we  have  adopted, 
and  under  which  we  have  solemnly  stipulated  to  God 
and  to  one  another  that  we  will  walk  together. 

I  need  not  say  to  those  who  are  in  the  habit  of  mak- 
ing the  Bible  their  guide,  that  order  is  one  of  the  first 
laws  of  Christ's  kingdom.  "  Let  all  things  be  done 
decently  and  in  order,"  is  his  inspired  command. 
Where  no  order  is,  there  is  confusion  and  every  evil 
work.  As  there  can  be  neither  peace  nor  comfort  in 
a  particular  Church  where  the  members  do  not  ad- 
here to  rule,  and  sacredly  consult  the  feelings  and 
edification  of  each  otherj  so  there  can  be  no  unity  or 
true  Christian  communion  among  churclies,  which, 
while  they  profess  to  be  one,  do  not  "  speak  the  same 
thing;"  will  not  "  walk  by  the  same  rule;" — and  in- 
sist on  consulting  their  private  convenience  or  incli- 

R 


194  LETTERS  TO   I^RESBYTERIANS. 

nation  alone.  The  mischiefs  of  such  a  course  I  can- 
not attempt  to  enumerate.  It  interferes  with  harmony 
and  edification  to  a  degree  of  which  no  one  can  esti- 
mate the  extent,  or  see  the  end.  The  members  of  a 
Church  session,  or  of  a  Presbytery,  when,  in  a  par- 
ticular case,  they  confessedly  go  counter  to  the  pub- 
lished rules  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  may  imagine 
that  very  little  if  any  evil  can  possibly  result  from  the 
course  adopted.  But,  the  truth  is,  they  form  a  part 
of  a  great  body  which  is  one^  all  the  several  branches 
or  members  of  which  are  to  be  considered  as  under 
the  same  regulating  principles.  Whenever,  there- 
fore, they  allow  themselves  to  be  guilty  of  any  disor- 
derly proceeding,  they  commence  a  derangement  of 
the  machinery,  which,  for  aught  they  can  tell,  may 
extend  a  disturbing  impulse  to  the  remotest  meih- 
bers  of  the  body  with  which  they  are  connected.  It 
may  be  compared  to  the  operation  of  a  single  false- 
hood uttered  in  an  orderly  and  tranquil  neighbour- 
hood. It  is  not,  perhaps,  intended,  and  it  may  not 
seem  possible,  that  it  should  do  much  harm.  But  it 
has  gone  forth.  The  mischiefs  which  it  has  gene- 
rated may  spread  like  a  cancer.  It  may  lead  to  a 
hundred  falsehoods,  and  a  hundred  quarrels.  "  Be- 
hold how  great  a  matter  a  little  fire  kindleth!"  The 
peace  of  many  families  may  be  destroyed  by  it.  A 
happy  Church  may  be  torn  in  pieces  by  it.  Nay,  it 
may  create  evils  of  which  a  whole  generation  may 
not  witness  the  entire  removal. 

But  perhaps  it  will  be  said,  that  a  machinery  so 
constructed,  and  so  liable  to  be  deranged  by  .disorder 
in  a  single  part  or  branch,  had  better  be  laid  aside. 
That  it  were  wiser  to  adopt  the  simple  Congrega- 
tional plan,  as  it  exists  in  Massachusetts,  in  which 


LETTER  XI.  195 

each  particular  church  is  independent  of  every  other 
churchy  and  in  which  there  is  no  delegated  body  re- 
presenting all  the  churches^  empowered  to  review 
the  proceedings  of  the  wholes  to  receive  appeals  from 
the  aggrieved;  and  to  bind  all  together  as  one  church. 
This  plan  allows  each  church  to  take  its  own  course 
in  every  thing,  without  yielding  to  any  other  body 
the  power  to  inspect  or  re-judge  its  proceedings.  I 
am  persuaded  that  whoever  examines  this  plan,  with 
an  impartial  mind,  will  find  it  liable  to  radical  objec- 
tions. It  is  contrary  to  Apostolical  example;  for  in 
Jicts  XV.  we  find  an  account  of  the  Synod  of  Jernsale^n, 
in  which  questions  were  authoritatively  decided  for  the 
whole  Christian  body;  and  from  which  "  decrees''  were 
sent  down  to  all  the  churches  to  be  sacredly  observed.  It 
is  contrary  to  the  practice  of  the  Church  in  the  ages 
immediately  after  the  Apostles;  for  we  find,  repeat- 
edly, in  the  records  of  those  ages,  examples  of  judg- 
ments passed,  and  decrees  published  at  Synodical 
meetings,  which  were  intended  to  bind  all  the 
churches  within  a  particular  kingdom  or  district. 
It  is  in  the  highest  degree  unfriendly  both  to  the 
unity  and  purity  of  the  Church:  and  it  would  not  be 
difficult  to  show,  that,  where  this  Independent  system 
prevails,  some  of  the  most  important  means  of  pro- 
moting the  harmony,  co-operation  and  health  of  the 
churches  are  essentially  wanting;  and  that  for  some 
of  the  worst  evils  to  which  an  assemblage  of  neigh- 
bouring churches  of  the  same  denomination  are  ex- 
posed, there  is  neither  prevention  nor  cure. 

But  I  may  not  be  an  impartial  judge.  I  will,  there- 
fore, request  your  attention  to  some  remarks  of  a 
writer,  who  may,  perhaps,  be  more  unprejudiced; 
who  speaks  in  the  pages  of  the  New  Haven  Spectator^ 


195  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

a  journal  which  has  not  always  appeared  over  partial 
to  the  Presbyterian  form  of  Church  government.  The 
writer  in  question,  himself  a  Congregationalist,  and 
referring  particularly  to  the  Congregationalism  of 
Massachusetts^  speaks  thus — 

"  When  an  individual  church,  in  any  town  or  parish, 
possesses  the  power  of  Christian  discipline,even  to  the 
exclusion  of  offenders,  and  possesses  the  same  power  to 
discipline  its  Pastor,  as  any  other  member;  the  govern- 
ment is  denominated  strictly  Congregational.     And  be 
the  church  ever  so  few  in  number,  or  even  so  much 
at  variance  among  themselves,  there  is  no   remedy, 
except  it  come  from  themselves.     They  may  contend 
for  years,  two  against  two,  or  three  against  three, 
without  a  prospect  of  peace.     Being  plunged  deep  in 
difficulty,  the  parties  sometimes  consent  to  a  mutual 
counsel.     A  venerable  council  is  convened,  consisting 
(in  many  cases)  of  more   and  wiser  men  than  the 
whole  church  that  called  them,  and  they  come  from 
out  of  the  reach  of  every  bias  or  prejudice.     They 
are  considered,  by  all  parties,  as  men  of  talents,  and 
of  enlarged  views:  men  of  integrity  and  ardent  piety. 
They  hear  and  labour  night  and  day  with  many  tears 
and  prayers.     They  make  out  a  result,  which  is  com- 
municated with  much  solemn  advice  and  exhortation. 
But,  unfortunately  for  both,  and  all  parties,  this  ven- 
erable council,  the  best  situated  and  qualified  of  all 
men  to  hear  and  judge  and  decide,  is  totally  void  of 
power.     The  result  goes  to  the  church,  and  there  it 
is  rejected.     The  council  retire  with  grief  and  morti- 
fication,  leaving  the  church  in  a  worse  predicament 
than  they  found  them.     Now  they  are  ripe  for  an  ex^ 
parte  council;  and  w4ien  and  how  will  the  troubles 
end.^  Nothing  can  safely  be  decided. 


LETTER  XI.  197 

"  If,  instead  of  multiplying  councils,  evidently  se- 
lected for  party  purposes,  the  churches  would  unite, 
and  covenant  together  to  become  one  body,  of  many 
members,  instead  of  many  bodies  of  few  members;  the 
work  of  discipline  would  be  easy,  correct,  and  effica- 
cious^ and  this  was  exactly  the  form  of  all  the  apos- 
tolical churches.  The  church  of  Jerusalem  consisted 
of  one  body  and  many  members.  It  consisted  of 
five  thousand  men^  how  many  women  and  children 
we  know  not.  But  they  were  all  one  body,  under 
the  pastoral  care  of  many  elders.  Such  were  all  the 
apostolical  churches.  They  were  one  united  body, 
under  the  care  of  a  suitable  number  of  elders,  called 
the  Presbytery.  The  church  in  every  city  or  district 
was  a  completely  organized  Consociation.  This  vene- 
rable body  of  Elders,  together  with  de!egates  from 
all  the  churches,  has  always  possessed  the  right  of 
self-government; — for  this  is  the  legitimate  body  of 
Christ,  consisting  of  all  the  saints,  loith  the  bishops  and 
deacons.  To  them,  in  the  Apostolic  age,  were  the 
difficult  cases  referred,  by  the  minor  churches,  for  a 
final  decision.  They  were  the  Church,  in  the  highest 
sense  of  the  word. 

"  Let  us  consider  some  of  the  benefits  of  this  union 
of  churches.  The  benefits  are  realized  chiefly  by  the 
brethren  of  the  churches,  rather  than  by  their  pas- 
tors and  elders.  It  brings  the  brethren  out  of  obscu- 
rity. It  brings  them  forward  one  after  another,  to 
attend  to  the  most  important  and  interesting  discus- 
sions, both  of  a  doctrinal  and  practical  nature.  It 
brings  the  churches  to  deliberate,  by  their  delegates, 
and  co-operate  with  their  pastors,  and  give  their 
votes  on  the  most  important  questions.  Delegates  of 
R  2 


198  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

the  churches,  when  they  return  from  meetings  of  the 
consociation,  realize  that  they  have  been  attending  a 
most  excellent  and  profitable  school^  and  with  plea- 
sure communicate  to  their  brethren  what  they  have 
learned  in  the  consociation;  so  that  information  cir- 
culates through  the  whole  body  of  churches. 

"  We  notice  another  benefit  of  this  union;  and  that 
is,  that  vacant  churches  derive  great  advantages  from 
their  connexion  with  the  consociation.  Being  desti- 
tute of  ministers  and  spiritual  guides  of  their  own, 
they  have  a  claim  on  any  or  all  the  ministers  in  the 
connexion,  for  that  aid,  direction  and  fatherly  care, 
by  which  they  are  kept  from  going  astray,  and  are 
enabled  to  obtain  faithful  ministers  of  the  Gospel.  It 
is  no  small  privilege  to  have  the  aid  and  assistance 
of  those  ministers  who  are  in  the  closest  bonds  of 
union  and  fellowship.  The  vacancy  of  churches,  is, 
in  a  great  measure,  filled  by  the  union  of  pastors  and 
churches  in  the  vicinity.  The  pastors,  by  this  union, 
become  like  pasters  of  the  apostolical  churches:  fel- 
low labourers,  workers  together,  fellow  helpers  and  fel- 
low servants  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

"  But  there  are  still  greater  benefits  resulting  from 
the  consociation  of  the  churches.  It  is  a  great  check 
to  the  progress  of  prevailing  errors  and  heresies.  If 
the  consociation  is,  as  it  most  certainly  ought  to  be, 
a  standing  council  for  the  examination  and  ordina- 
tion of  ministers  within  their  own  limits;  there  will 
be  but  little  danger  of  the  introduction  of  heretics 
into  the  sacred  office.  Instances  are  very  rare,  if^-; 
any  have  occurred,  in  which  heretics  of  any  name 
have  gained  an  establishment  in  the  midst  of  an  har- 
monious consociation.     But  where  no  bond  of  union 


LETTER   XI.  199 

exists  in  the  churches,  there  is  a  struggle  between 
the  advocates  for  the  various  systems  of  religion. 
Unitarians  and  Universalists  claim  the  congrega- 
tional principle,  and  introduce  their  disciples  almost 
imperceptibly  into  our  vacant  congregations. 

"  What  is  the  form  of  church  government  in  Mas- 
sachusetts? It  is  extinct.  There  is  not  a  shadow  of 
union  of  one  church  with  another.  Instead  of  union 
and  co-operation,  we  stand  aloof,  and  cultivate  jea- 
lousies and  party  feelings  against  each  other.  Being 
rarely  called  together  to  act  in  concert,  as  sister 
churches,  we  make  but  very  little  acquaintance  wiih 
Christians  beyond  the  narrow  limits  of  our  own  pa- 
rishes. This  shameful  ignorance  of  our  brethren  in 
Christ,  and  even  of  the  officers  and  leading  members 
of  his  church,  'ought  not  so  to  be.'  We  ought  to  be 
intimately  acquainted  with  our  brethren,  even  at  a 
distance.  But  how  can  this  acquaintance  exist,  so 
long  as  we  utterly  refuse  to  associate,  or  to  cultivate 
any  bonds  of  Christian  union  whatsoever.^  It  cannot 
take  place.  ^Ve  must  remain  strangers  and  aliens 
for  want  of  some  bond  of  union. 

"  There  is,  in  fact,  but  one  alternative.  The 
churches  in  this  state  {Massachusetts)  must  urate—' 
must  organize  themselves  in  union  with  their  pastors 
for  mutual  acquaintance,  improvement,  good  fellow- 
ship and  discipline;  or  they  must  go  to  ruin.  It  is 
as  absurd  and  unscriptural  for  independent  churches 
to  set  up  for  independence  of  the  united  body  of  the 
Church,  as  for  individual  tov.ns  to  set  up  for  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  state  or  nation.  Order,  harmony 
and  peace  cannot  be  preserved  and  promoted,  with- 
out a  more  extensive  union,  than  that  of  a  few  indi- 
viduals, or  individual  bodies.     From  a  careful  review 


200  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

of  the  Scriptures  on  this  subject,  we  have  found,  that 
churches  established  by  the  Apostles,  were  composed 
of  a  large  number  of  ministers,  with  their  individual 
churches.  These,  in  cordial  union,  fellowship,  and 
co-operation,  composed  what  we  call  a  consocia- 
tion. And  from  the  days  of  the  Apostles  to  this  day, 
the  orthodox  churches  have  been  nearly  on  the  same 
ground.  Their  ecclesiastical  judicatories  have  been 
of  the  nature,  and  have  had  the  effects  of  a  consocia- 
tion of  the  churches."* 

These  remarks  are  pointed  and  excellent.  And,  I 
may  add,  that  every  word  which  the  author  has 
written  in  favour  of  what  he  calls  the  "  consociation 
of  churches,"  applies  with  equal  force  in  support  of 
the  Presbyterian  form  of  church  government.  The 
plan  of  consociation  as  it  exists  in  Connecticut^  which 
the  writer,  no  doubt,  had  in  his  eye,  is  neither  less 
nor  more  than  Presbyterianism  as  far  as  it  goes. 
And,  indeed,  the  writer  frankly  acknowledges  that,  in 
the  Apostolic  age,  that  united  body  of  churches  and 
pastors,  not  only  for  giving  advice^  but  for  the  exer- 
cise of  ecclesiastical  authority  over  all  the  churches 
represented,  and  for  the  restoration  of  which  he 
pleads,  was  called  a  "  Presbytery."  The  advantages 
of  this  system  in  Connecticut  have  been  equally  indu- 
bitable and  signal.  And  had  the  churches  in  that 
State,  a  "  General  Consociation,"  to  which  appeals 
might  be  brought  from  the  county  or  district  conso- 
ciations, they  would  have  a  form  of  government,  in 
the  opinion  of  Dr.  Dwight,  greatly  improved,  and 
still  better  adapted  than  at  present  to  maintain  general 
order  and  purity.     Had  Massachusetts,  more  than  a 

*  Christian  Spectator,  Vol.  III.  p.  460—463. 


LETTER   XI.  201 

century  ago,  united  with  Connecticut  in  the  adoption 
of  the  consociational  system,  there  is  every  reason  to 
believe  that  she  would  have  been,  at  this  hour,  as  free 
from  the  Unitarian  heresy  as  her  next  door  and  hap- 
pier sister. 

The  truth  is,  the  indispensable  need  of  some  such 
system,  for  binding  the  churches  together  in  one  har- 
monious and  co-operating  body,  as  Presbyterianism 
furnishes,  is  daily  disclosed  by  the  expedients  to  which 
our  respected  Congregational  brethren  are  compelled 
to  resort^  for  which  their  original  system  makes  no 
provision;  and  which,  though  sometimes  successful, 
are  still  oftener  found  totally  inadequate  to  the  pur- 
poses for  which  they  are  intended.  For  all  these  exi- 
gencies, the  Presbyterian  form  of  government,  in  its 
essential  structure,  makes  appropriate  and  ample  pro- 
vision. For  terminating  all  controversies  between 
churches  and  their  pastors;  between  different  parties 
in  the  same  church;  and  between  different  neighbour- 
ing churches,  it  furnishes  the  most  prompt  and  regu- 
lar means.  It  cannot  prevent  the  existence  of  offences; 
but  it  provides  the  most  expeditious  and  effectual 
methods  of  removing  them.  It  cannot  reverse  the 
laws  of  depraved  human  nature;  but  it  offers  the 
best  means  of  restraining  the  disobedient,  and  recon- 
ciling the  alienated,  that  human  infirmity  admits. 
It  has  not  power  to  banish  selfishness,  violence  and 
schism  from  the  church;  but  it  furnishes  ties  for  bind- 
ing together  individual  churches  and  pastors,  and  for 
facilitating  their  ecclesiastical  union  and  co-operation, 
more  easily,  happily,  and  completely  than  any  other 
system  which  Christendom  presents.  If  the  machinery 
of  this  system  were  complicated;  if  there  were  a  single 
unnecessary  wheel,  there  would  be  some  ground  for 


202  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

objection.  But  the  truth  is,  it  is  not  more  efficient 
than  simple.  There  is  no  part  for  show  or  mystery; 
nothing  but  what  is  at  once  adapted  and  necessary 
to  attain  the  object — harmonious,  active  union. 

Now  the  question  is — seeing  we  are  blessed  with 
such  a  system  of  Church  government;  a  system  more 
admirably  adapted  than  any  other  to  promote  the 
harmony,  purity,  and  extension  of  the  Church;  a  sys- 
tem pre-eminently  suited  to  secure  Christian  liberty 
with  Christian  order;  a  system  which  some  of  the 
most  learned,  wise,  and  pious  divines  that  ever  adorn- 
ed the  New  England  churches,  have  cordially  ap- 
proved, and  expressed  an  earnest  desire  to  have  in- 
troduced among  themselves; — I  say,  having  such  a 
system  happily  established  among  us,  shall  we  trifle 
with  its  essential  principles?  Shall  we  refuse  to  avail 
ourselves  of  the  advantages  which  it  places  within 
our  reach?  Shall  we  trample  it  under  feet  as  a  thing 
of  naught?  This  were  indeed  infatuation.  What 
would  be  thought  of  a  functionary  of  the  civil  go- 
vernment, who  should  allow  himself  to  violate  one 
article  after  another  of  the  public  constitution,  which 
he  had  solemnly  engaged  to  support,  and  which  could 
only  be  really  useful  so  long  as  it  was  kept  entire? 
Would  it  be  considered  as  consistent  with  either  po- 
litical or  moral  fidelity?  I  presume  not.  As  little 
can  we  justify  either  the  wisdom  or  the  integrity  of 
him  who,  entrusted  with  office  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  proves  faithless  to  the  articles  of  her  consti- 
tution. He  may  imagine,  every  time  he  departs  from 
the  spirit  of  that  constitution,  that  the  infraction  is 
of  small  importance,  and  that  the  evil  arising  from  it 
will  be  more  than  counterbalanced  by  a  greater  good; 
but  the  form  of  government  may  be  compared  to  a 


LETTER  XI.  203 

compact  building.  However  firm  it  may  be  while  it 
remains  entire,  yet  if  one  stone  after  another  be  dis- 
placed, or  taken  away,  the  whole  edifice  will  be  se- 
riously weakened,  and  if  the  practice  be  continued, 
must  soon  be  levelled  to  the  dust. 

Some  ecclesiastical  evils,  like  some  bodily  diseases, 
have  a  tendency  to  cure  themselves.  While  others, 
like  diseases  of  a  difierent  sort,  tend  not  only  to  the 
continuance,  but  also  to  the  extension  and  perpetua- 
tion of  the  mischief  which  they  generate.  Of  this 
latter  class  are  many  of  the  departures  from  Presby- 
terial  order.  They  afiect  others,  as  well  as  ourselves. 
They  give  rise  to  trouble,  and  perhaps  to  extended, 
intricate,  and  incurable  trouble  afterwards.  They 
disturb,  and  it  may  be  poison,  streams  which  ought 
to  flow  equably  and  pure  to  every  part  of  the  body. 
And  their  effect  often  is  to  introduce  members  or 
measures  into  the  Church,  whose  influence  is  perma- 
nently and  increasingly  mischievous. 

When  any  man  solemnly  unites  himself  to  a  parti- 
cular ecclesiastical  body,  and  especially  when  he  offers 
himself  to  her  as  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  one  of 
her  teachers  and  rulers,  he  is  bound  in  honour,— an 
terior  to  all  formal  engagements  to  that  amount — he 
is  bound  in  honour  to  observe  her  rules,  to  consult 
her  peace,  and  to  make  her  interest  his  own.  The 
idea  of  any  man  coming  into  such  a  community,  with 
a  mind  hostile  to  its  declared  principles  and  interests, 
as  such,  is  so  abhorrent  from  every  ingenuous  feel- 
ing, that  we  cannot  suppose  any  man  of  common  in- 
tegrity, capable  of  deliberately  taking  such  a  step. 
What  would  a  society  of  worldly  men  of  honour,  who 
had  associated  for  the  avowed  purpose  of  maintaining 
and  carrying  into=  effect  a  certain  ae.t  of  rnoral  or  poli- 


204  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

tical  principles,  Ihink  of  a  man  who  should  offer  him- 
self as  a  candidate  for  membership  in  their  body, 
when  he  was  a  secret  enemy  of  the  principles  in 
question,  and  wished  to  become  one  of  their  number 
with  the  deliberate  purpose  of  opposing  the  object 
for  which  they  united,  and  secretly  assailing  the  es- 
sential principles  of  their  plan?  No  one  can  doubt, 
that  he  would  be  both  despised  and  abhorred,  and 
that  he  would  richly  deserve  his  fate.  But  if  such 
would  be  the  estimate  of  worldly  men,  how  much 
more  unfavourable  must  be  the  judgment  of  those 
who  are  governed  by  Christian  principle,  and  who 
remember  that,  in  the  affairs  of  the  Church,  if  in  any 
thing,  "  whatsoever  we  do,  we  are  to  do  heartily,  as 
unto  the  Lord,  and  not  unto  men." 

The  various  ways  in  which  Presbyterial  order  may 
be,  and  has  been  invaded,  are  too  numerous  to  admit 
of  minute  specification  within  the  limits  which  I  have 
assigned  to  these  letters.  But  there  are  a  few,  which 
as  they  are  more  frequent  in  their  occurrence,  so 
they  are  more  injurious  in  their  influence,  than  most 
others^  and,  therefore,  may  deserve,  on  both  these  ac- 
counts, special  notice. 

I.  The  first  irregularity  that  I  shall  specify,  is  the 
introduction  of  men  into  office  in  the  Church,  without 
the  qualifications  which  our  form  of  government  re- 
quires^ or  without  due  regard  to  the  subscription 
and  engagements  prescribed  in  our  public  formula- 
ries. Church  Sessions  have  consented  to  invest  with 
the  Eldership,  persons  who  were  notoriously  un- 
friendly to  the  doctrine  and  order  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church 5  and  have  either  omitted  to  demand  from 
them  the  prescribed  adoption  of  the  Confession  of 
Faith,  &c.,  or  have   allowed    them  to    adopt   these 


LETTER   XI.  205 

Standards  with  an  avowed  laxity  of  construction,  or 
an  evident  mental  reservation,  altogether  inconsistent 
with  Christian  probity.  Presbyteries,  in  defiance  of 
the  rules  adopted  for  regulating  such  cases,  have  sent 
forth,  as  licentiates  to  the  churches,  young  men  so 
deficient  in  literature,  so  unfurnished  with  theological 
knowledge,  such  novices  as  to  every  practical  qualifi- 
cationj  and  of  such  doubtful  soundness  in  the  faith^ 
— as  to  defeat  the  purpose  of  every  regulation  in 
reference  to  this  important  concern.  Nor  have 
instances  been  wanting  in  which  Presbyteries,  after 
licensing  young  men  thus  unqualified  for  the  sacred 
office,  have  proceeded  to  ordain  them,  without  any 
suitable  or  legitimate  inducement,  and  in  spite  of 
every  law  and  remonstrance  to  the  contrary.  The 
mischiefs  arising  from  this  disorderly  procedure  are 
numberless,  and  of  an  extent  not  easily  measured.  If 
the  licentiates  and  ministers  thus  irregularly  sent 
out,  could,  in  all  cases,  be  confined  to  the  Presbytery 
which  sent  them  forth,  the  mischief  might  be  less 
than  it  is  often  found  to  be.  But  a  licentiate  or  mi- 
nister in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  belongs,  of  course, 
to  the  whole  body,  and  expects  to  be  received  every 
where,  as  in  good  standing.  Whenever,  therefore, 
the  licensing  or  ordaining  power  is  exercised  con- 
trary to  the  spirit  of  the  rules  formed  for  its  regula- 
tion, and  admits  into  the  class  of  public  instructors, 
or  pastors,  an  unqualified  person,  no  one  can  estimate 
either  the  amount  or  the  duration  of  the  injury  in- 
flicted on  the  Church.  Whatever  of  evil,  ignorance, 
indiscretion,  fanaticism,  and  headlong  violence,  when 
exhibited  by  a  teacher  of  religion,  are  capable  of  pro- 
ducing, may  be  produced  by  a  single  instance  of  ir- 
regular license  or  ordination,  or  may  last  as  long  as 


206  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

the  life  of  the  individual  thus  improperly  introduced, 
and,  indeed,  long  after  he  has  gone  to  his  account. 
As  long  as  Presbyteries  expect  their  licentiates  and 
members  to  be  received  as  in  good  standing  by  all  the 
judicatories  of  our  Church,  to  whom  they  present 
their  testimonials,  they  surely  owe  it  to  common 
honesty  to  proceed,  in  licensing  and  ordaining  them, 
in  strict  conformity  to  those  rules  by  which  all  have 
engaged  to  be  governed.  Where  men  are  licensed  or 
ordained  in  opposition  to  these  rules,  who  can  com- 
plain of  sister  judicatories  for  refusing  to  recognise 
them? 

Instances  of  this  kind,  of  the  most  distressing 
character,  are  by  no  means  wanting.  A  signal  exam- 
ple of  licensing,  and  subsequently  ordaining  a  can- 
didate, in  violation  of  the  rules  solemnly  adopted,  was 
hinted  at  in  m.y  first  letter,  as  having  taken  place 
more  than  ninety  years  ago;  and  as  among  the  events 
which  contributed  to  rend  asunder  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  The  mischief  which  followed  that  irregu- 
larity was,  probably,  a  hundred  fold  more  than  a 
counterbalance  to  all  the  good  which  the  candidate 
was  instrumental  in  effecting  through  the  whole 
course  of  his  ministry.  But  the  complicated  evil 
arising  from  this  kind  of  departure  from  Presbyte- 
rial  order,  was  still  more  painfully  exemplified  in  the 
Western  country,  particularly  within  the  bounds  of 
the  Synod  of  Kentucky^  about  thirty  years  ago.  One 
of  the  Presbyteries  composing  that  Synod,  during  a 
remarkable  revival  of  religion,  being  requested  to 
license  a  number  of  young  men,  who,  though  entirely 
destitute  of  any  suitable  education,  and  partaking 
largely  of  the  fanatical  excitement  around  them, 
appeared   to   be   pious; — thought  proper  to  comply 


LETTER  XI.  207 

with  their  request;  hoping  that,  although  not  regu- 
larly qualified,  they  might  still  be  useful.  Candidate 
after  candidate  of  this  character  was  accordingly 
licensed.  After  giving  them  license,  finding  that 
they  were  acceptable  as  preachers  to  large  bodies  of 
people,  as  fanatical  as  themselves,  the  Presbytery 
went  a  step  further  and  ordained  them.  A  number  of 
these  young  men,  declined  adopting  the  Confession 
of  Faith  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  usual 
formi  declaring  that  they  were  ready  to  adopt  it, 
"  only  so  far  as  they  considered  it  as  agreeing  with 
the  word  of  God."  They  were,  however,  freely 
licensed  and  ordained,  notwithstanding.  All  this  was 
felt  and  acknowledged  at  the  time  to  be  contrary  to 
rule;  but  it  was  hoped,  on  the  old  corrupt  principle, 
that  "  the  end  might  sanctify  the  means."  But,  as 
miight  have  been  expected,  trouble  of  the  most  serious 
kind,  soon  began  to  disclose  itself.  Those  who  had 
been  introduced  in  an  irregular  manner,  encouraged 
irregularity  in  others.  Disorders  multiplied.  Errors 
of  the  most  serious  kind  were  preached.  And  minis- 
ters of  this  unhappy  character  were  in  a  fair  way  to 
become  a  majority;  when  the  decisive  course  of  the 
Synod  of  Kentucky^  followed  up  by  the  enlightened 
and  strong  measures  of  the  General  Assembly,  ar- 
rested the  progress  of  the  evil,  by  cutting  off  from 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  the  greater  part  of  those 
who  had  been  thus  irregularly  introduced.  The 
result  manifested  that  the  worst  fears  of  the  friends 
of  truth  and  order,  were  but  too  well  founded.  With/ 
very  few  exceptions,  they  all  turned  out  grossly  hete- 
rodox and  disorderly;  and  could  not  have  failed,  if 
they  had  remained  in  our  Church,  to  corrupt,  as  well 
as  to  disturb  and  disgrace  it.    A  majority  of  these 


208  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

excluded  men,  formed  the  body  since  known  by  the 
name  of  the  "  Cumberland  Presbyterians^"  now  con- 
sisting of  a  number  of  Presbyteries,  professing  to 
adopt  the  Presbyterian  form  of  government,  but  avow- 
edly embracing  Arminian  sentiments  in  theology. 
Another,  but  smaller  portion,  formed  a  new  body, 
denominated  "  Chrystians,"  and  sometimes  "  New 
Lights,"  or  "  Stoneites,"  (from  the  name  of  their  prin- 
cipal leader,)  and  became  a  kind  of  enthusiastic,  noisy 
Socinians.  While  the  remainder,  under  the  same 
lawless  impulse,  took  a  third  course,  and  fell  into  all 
the  fanatical  absurdities  of  "  Shakerism."  Such 
have  been  the  consequences  of  departing  honestly, 
and  with  good  intention,  from  Presbyterial  order! 
All  the  churches  in  that  region  were  agitated,  and 
some  of  them  torn  in  pieces  by  their  operation;  judi- 
catories were,  year  after  year,  occupied  and  perplexed 
in  endeavouring  to  repair  the  injury  done  by  one 
false  course  of  procedure;  and  monuments  of  the  most 
disastrous  character  remain,  for  our  instruction  and 
warning,  to  the  present  day. 

The  truth  is,  as  all  the  churches  in  the  United 
States,  under  the  care  of  the  General  Assembly, 
have  solemnly  adopted  a  written  Constitution;  have 
pledged  themselves  to  one  another,  and  to  the  public, 
to  walk  together  according  to  a  certain  system  of 
rules;  they  are  bound  to  adhere  to  those  rules  in 
"  every  jot  and  tittle;"  recollecting,  that  they  act,  in 
each  case,  not  for  themselves  alone,  but  for  the  whole 
body;  and  that  each  act  may,  for  aught  they  can  tell, 
be  brought,  by  reference,  appeal  or  complaint,  before 
a  higher  judicatory,  who  must  judge  of  it  by  the 
same  rules  which  were  prescribed  for  the  lower  judi° 
catory,  and  which  ought  to  have  governed  it. 


LETTER   XI.  209 

It  will,  perhaps,  be  asked — can  no  case  arise  in  which 
a  Presbytery  may  be  justifiable  in  dispensing  with 
some  portion  of  those  literary  attainments,  in  candi- 
dates for  license  and  ordination,  which  our  rules  on 
that  subject  demand?  To  this  question,  I  would 
respectfully  offer  an  opinion,  that  there  ought  never 
to  be  such  dispensation  but  in  cases  truly  extraordi- 
nary; where  a  candidate,  though  he  have  not  gone 
through  a  regular  course  of  academical  training,  is, 
nevertheless,  so  distinguished  for  fervent  piety,  good 
sense,  prudence,  and  aptness  to  teach  all  that  he  does 
know,  that  all  who  know  him  are  ready  to  acknow- 
ledge, that  he  may  be  useful  as  a  religious  teacher. 
For,in  my  judgment,  no  subordinate  judicatory  ought 
to  feel  itself  at  liberty,  in  any  case,  and  especially  in 
the  delicate  and  important  work  of  admitting  the 
teachers  and  rulers  of  the  Church  to  their  respective 
functions,  to  depart  from  strict  rule,  unless  when  the 
case  is  so  strongly  marked,  and  so  unquestionable 
in  its  aspect,  that  if  the  whole  Church  was  assembled 
by  its  representatives,  in  the  highest  judicatory, 
there  is  every  reason  to  believe,  it  would  approve  of 
the  proposed  measure. 

I  shall  finish  what  I  have  to  say  on  Presbyterial 
order,  in  another  letter. 

Princeton,  March,  1833. 


s  2 


210  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 


LETTER  XII. 

Adherence  to  Preshyterial  Order. 

Christian  Brethren, 

I  PROCEED,  in  this  letter,  to  take  notice  of  some 
other  departures  from  the  order  of  our  ecclesiastical 
constitution,  to  which  temptations  may  arise,  and 
which  liave  been  found  highly  injurious  in  their  influ- 
ence. 

II.  In  this  list  of  irregularities,  that  which  has  been 
commonly  styled  lay  preaching,  deserves  a  conspicu- 
ous place.  This  is  an  evil  of  which,  in  many  parts 
of  our  country,  there  is  no  danger.  The  state  of  pub- 
lic sentiment,  and  all  the  habits  of  the  people  are 
such,  that,  instead  of  any  disposition  unlawfully  to 
intrude  on  ofiicial  functions,  there  is  rather  a  blame- 
able  backwardness  among  laymen  who  profess  reli- 
gion, even  to  lead  in  prayer  in  social  meetings.  In 
such  places,  there  is  certainly,  at  present,  very  little 
need  of  caution  on  the  subject  before  us.  But  there 
are  many  other  places,  in  various  parts  of  our  land, 
in  which  a  tendency  of  a  different  character  exists, 
and  in  which  it  were  well  for  the  cause  of  Christ,  and 
for  the  edification  of  his  people,  if  correct  principles 
and  practice  in  reference  to  this  subject  were  preva- 
lent. And  what  renders  the  subject  peculiarly  inte- 
resting, is,  that  difficulty  in  relation  to  it  is  most  apt 
to  arise  in  extensive  and  powerful  revivals  of  religion. 
In  a  season  when  many,  heretofore  careless,  are 
awakened  to  a  sense  of  the  importance  of  eternal 


LETTER  XII.  211 

thingsj  and  when  the  minds  of  Christians  are  excited 
and  warmed  to  an  unusual  degree,  nothing  is  more 
natural  than  that  some  not  accustomed  or  authorized 
to  speak  in  public,  should  feel  impelled  to  give  vent 
to  their  feelings  in  religious  assemblies.  Individuals 
among  the  recently  converted,  being  brought,  as  it 
were,  into  a  new  world,  can  scarcely  refrain  from 
pouring  out  the  fulness  of  their  hearts,  with  the  hope 
of  doing  good  to  some  around  them.  And  even  some 
of  longer  standing  and  more  experience  in  religion, 
in  the  wonder,  joy,  and  gratitude  occasioned  by  see- 
ing so  many  triumphs  of  the  grace  of  God, — feel  con- 
strained not  only  to  take  the  lead  in  prayer,  but  also 
to  undertake  the  office  of  instruction  and  exhortation. 
In  most  of  the  great  revivals  of  religion  that  I  have 
ever  seen  or  heard  of,  more  or  less  of  this  irregularity 
appeared.  In  the  celebrated  and  truly  glorious  revi- 
vals which  occurred,  and  which  prevailed  so  exten- 
sively in  this  country,  under  the  ministry  of  White- 
field,  Edwards,  the  Tennents,  and  other  distinguished 
ministers  of  Christ,  from  sixty  to  ninety  years  ago, 
irregularities  as  to  this  point  were  frequently  com- 
plained of,  and  evidently,  in  some  cases,  injured  the 
cause  of  religion.  They  are  mentioned  with  pointed 
disapprobation  and  regret  by  the  venerable  President 
Edwards,  in  his  "Thoughts"  on  the  revival  of  reli- 
gion which  existed  in  his  day  in  New  England.  In- 
deed I  suppose  they  seldom  fail  in  some  degree  to 
arise  whenever  a  large  number  of  persons,  in  the 
same  neighbourhood,  are  awakened  to  a  knowledge 
and  love  of  the  truth.  I  suppose,  too,  that  when 
these  irregularities  do  arise,  the  season  of  their  exhi- 
bition very  seldom  closes,  without  leaving  all  intelli- 
gent  and  judicious  Christians   perfectly   convinced 


212  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

that  they  are  mischievous  and  to  be  deplored.  But 
in  this,  as  well  as  in  other  important  cases,  those  les- 
sons which  are  learned,  and  it  may  be  most  impres- 
sively learned,  by  one  generation,  are  generally  for- 
gotten before  another  arises.  It  seems  to  be  necessary, 
then,  for  the  churches,  every  few  years,  to  learn  by 
woful  experience,  the  mischiefs  of  lay -preaching,  and 
lay-exhorting,  and  to  be  delivered  from  them  only 
after  witnessing  for  themselves  their  unhappy  effects. 
I  have  known  this  evil  to  arise  again  and  again,  in 
different  parts  of  the  United  Statesj  but  have  no  re- 
collection of  its  ever  having  been  put  down  until  after 
running  a  certain  course,  and  satisfying  all  enlight- 
ened, solid  Christians,  of  its  evil  nature,  by  its  painful 
consequences. 

I  am  perfectly  aware,  that  without  referring  them  to 
the  light  of  experience,  it  is  impossible  to  convince 
many  good  people  of  the  real  evil  of  this  thing.  They 
are  ready  to  ask — shall  a  man,  whose  eyes  have  been 
opened  to  see  the  importance  of  the  great  salvation, 
and  whose  "  heart  burns  within  him"  with  love  and 
compassion  for  perishing  sinners; — shall  he  be  de- 
barred from  bearing  an  honest  testimony  on  this  sub- 
ject? I  answer,  let  such  an  one  by  holy  example^  by 
fervent,  importunate  prayer;  and  by  seaso-nable,  wise, 
persevering  conversation,  with  every  individual,  and  in 
every  social  circle,  where  he  has  an  opportunity; — let 
him  by  all  these  means,  and  by  the  distribution  of 
pious  books,  Sec,  endeavour  to  impress  the  minds  of 
all  around  him  with  the  knowledge  and  importance  of 
eternal  things.  Let  him  be  ever  ready,  also,  to  pro- 
mote the  cause  of  Christ  by  religious  visits;  by  assist- 
ing his  pastor  in  catechetical  instruction,  Sunday 
Schools,  Bible  classes,  and  attention  to  the  sick  and 


LETTER  XII.  2  1  3 

dying; — in  short,  by  every  pious  effort  which  falls 
within  the  department  oi private  instruction.  All  this 
may  be  done  without  invading  any  official  function, 
and  may  be  so  conducted  as  to  occupy  the  best  talents, 
and  all  the  leisure  time  of  the  most  spiritual  and  dili- 
gent Christian,  who  is  not  devoted  to  the  work  of  the 
ministry.  But  let  him  not  invade  the  function  of  the 
authorized  public  teacher.  When  every  man  serves 
God  with  diligence  in  that  sphere  in  which  an  all- 
wise  Providence  has  placed  him,  he  will,  undoubtedly, 
be  more  likely  to  serve  Him  acceptably  and  profitably, 
than  he  can  hope  to  do  by  going  out  of  that  sphere, 
however  honest  his  intentions,  or  unceasing  his  ef- 
forts. God  is  a  God  of  order;  and  no  one  ever  yet 
pleased  him,  or  advanced  his  kingdom,  by  invading 
the  prescribed  order  of  his  house. 

The  mischiefs  of  lay-preaching  are  radical  and 
numberless.  If  none  but  the  wise,  the  well-instructed, 
and  the  truly  pious  ever  engaged  in  this  work,  the 
evils  attending  it  would  be  much  less; — but  every  one 
who  has  had  an  opportunity  of  observing,  knows,  that 
it  is  most  apt  to  be  usurped  by  the  vain,  the  arrogant, 
the  enthusiastic,  and  the  superficial.  Where  lay- 
preaching  is  much  practised,  I  will  venture  to  say, 
that,  for  one  old,  experienced,  truly  enlightened,  and 
prudent  Christian  who  engages  in  it,  there  may  be 
produced  ten  mere  novices,  scarcely  fledged  sciolists, 
who  have  not  for  twelve  months,  perhaps  not  for  six, 
cherished  the  hope  that  they  are  Christians,  and  who 
are  scarcely  able  to  state  and  defend  the  most  simple 
and  elementary  truths  with  any  degree  of  distinctness. 
These  are  the  men  most  apt  to  imagine  that  they  are 
qualified  to  be  public  instructors,  and  most  ready  to 
obtrude  themselves  into  the  duties  of  the  office.    The 


214  LETTERS  TO    PRESBYTERIANS. 

humble,  the  modest,  the  well-informed,  who  know 
how  solemn  is  the  task  of  guiding  immortal  souls,  and 
how  important  it  is  that  "  the  word  of  truth  be  rightly 
divided,"  and  the  deeply  pious,  are  ready  to  shrink 
from  the  work,  as  too  arduous  and  solemn  to  be  un- 
dertaken by  them:  while  those  who  know  little  of 
themselves,  less  of  the  truth,  and  least  of  all  of  the  va- 
rious conflicts  and  trials  of  the  serious  inquirer,  are 
often  found  willing,  without  hesitation,  to  present 
themselves  before  public  assemblies  as  Christian 
teachers.  Often — very  often,  have  I  known  this  ex- 
periment made;  but  never  have  I  known  it  to  termi- 
nate otherwise  than  disastrously.  Its  invariable  ten- 
dency is  to  draw  down  the  displeasure  of  the  King  of 
Zion  for  an  infringement  of  the  law  of  his  house;  to 
degrade  the  Christian  ministry,  as  an  ordin-ance  of 
God;  to  introduce  incalculable  disorder  and  confu- 
sion into  the  Church;  to  make  crude,  erroneous,  su- 
perficial views  of  divine  truth  popular;  to  introduce  a 
fondness  for  noise  and  fanaticism,  rather  than  solid 
instruction;  to  repel  persons  of  education  and  judg- 
ment from  the  house  of  God;  and  thus  to  bring  reli- 
gion into  contempt  with  thousands  who  might  other- 
wise have  been  willing  to  place  themselves  respectfully 
within  the  sphere  of  its  influence. 

It  has  been  supposed  by  some,  that  students  of 
Theology,  although  not  yet  licensed,  may  be  allowed, 
without  impropriety  or  danger,  to  exhort,  and  even 
preach  in  public  at  pleasure,  provided  they  do  not 
intrude  on  the  regular  services  of  the  pulpit.  It  may, 
perhaps,  be  granted,  that  such  candidates  for  the 
ministry  may  be  safely  permitted  to  conduct  prayer 
meetings,  and  occasionally  to  make  short  practical 
addresses  to  the  small  circles  which  usually  attend 


LETTER  XII.  215 

such  meetings.  A  privilege  of  this  kind  may  be 
regarded  as  a  part,  and  an  interesting  part  of  their 
professional  training.  But  it  is  •  a  bad  precedent, 
even  for  theological  students,  to  take  a  text,  and  do 
every  thing  that  would  be  formally,  as  well  as  virtu- 
ally, considered  as  preachings  if  it  were  to  take  place 
in  the  pulpit.  Surely  candidates  for  the  sacred  office 
ought  to  be  the  last  men  in  the  world  to  pursue  a 
course  adapted  to  degrade  that  office!  Surely  those 
who  are  preparing  to  be  the  Church's  guides  and  rulers, 
ought  not  to  give  such  an  unfavourable  presage  of 
their  character,  as  to  be  found,  in  the  course  of  their 
preparation,  trampling  upon  her  order! 

The  truth  is,  every  Presbyterian,  whatever  place 
he  may  occupy,  who  violates  the  constitutional  rules 
of  the  Church,  knows  not  what  degree  of  mischief  he 
is  preparing  for  the  cause  of  Christ.  A  single  bad 
example  may  work  incalculable  evil.  Our  distinctive 
system,  as  a  denomination,  is  one  which  professes 
to  unite  genuine  spirituality  with  strict  order: — the 
spirit  of  true  scriptural  revivals,  with  that  adherence 
to  ecclesiastical  rule,  which  guards  against  the  pros- 
tration of  any  of  the  great  laws  of  Christ's  house. 
Both  parts  of  this  system  are  essential  to  our  glory 
as  a  Church.  On  the  one  hand,  if  we  depart  from 
our  spirituality,  that  is,  from  a  faithful  adherence  to 
the  practical,  experimental  religion  of  the  Bible,  our 
order  will  be  but  a  frigid,  heartless  machinery.  The 
vital  spirit  will  be  gone.  Our  forms  will  not  be 
worth  preserving.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  if  we 
depart  from  our  distinctive  order,  all  experience 
demonstrates  that  our  spirituality  will  not  long  sur- 
vive. We  may  remain  nominal  Presbyterians;  but 
we  shall  really  be  disorderly  fanatics.     The  enlight- 


2 16  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS.  J 

ened  and  faithful  friend  of  our  Zion  will  carefully 
hold  fast  both;  remembering  that  no  degree  of  spirit- 
uality, no  degree  of  warm  hearted  zeal  for  revivals, 
will  atone  for  a  departure  from  either  pure  Gospel 
truth,  or  genuine  Gospel  order.  Again,  then,  I  say, 
"what  God  hath  joined  together,  let  no  man  put 
asunder." 

III.  Another  deviation  from  Presbyterial  order  I 
mention  at  once  with  diffidence  and  distress.  With 
diffidence^  because  I  am  not  certain  of  its  having  occur- 
red in  ail  the  extent  reported:  with  distress^  because 
if  it  ever  have  occurred  in  any  Presbytery  within  our 
bounds,  it  appears  to  me  to  indicate  a  more  alarming 
disaffection  to  our  public  standards  than  almost  any 
other  fact  which  has  come  to  my  knowledge.  Is  it  a 
fact,  then,  in  one  or  more  Presbyteries,  instead  of 
calling  upon  candidates  for  License  and  Ordination 
to  subscribe  the  Confession  of  Faith  of  our  Church — 
an  entirely  different  Confession  has  been  prepared 
and  presented  to  these  candidates^  a  Confession  much 
shorter — consisting,  indeed  of  only  eight  or  ten  very 
brief  articles;  and  formed  upon  the  avowed  principle 
of  meeting  and  relieving  the  scruples  of  those  who 
could  not  conscientiously  subscribe  the  larger  Con- 
fession received  in  our  churches?  I  ask,  is  it  a  fact 
that  such  a  Confession  has  been  adopted  by  any 
Presbytery  in  our  connexion,  and  made  a  substitute 
for  the  proper  one;  and  that  upon  the  acknowledged 
principle,  that  the  proper  one  could  not,  and  would 
not  be  subscribed?  If  I  am  not  misinformed,  some- 
thing like  this  has  actually  been  done;  and  by  bre- 
thren, too,  whose  undoubted  piety  precludes  the  sus- 
picion of  that  reckless  tampering  with  conscience 
and  with  truth  which  might  be  supposed   to  have 


LETTER    XII,  217 

occurred  in  some  other  hands.  On  such  a  subject  it 
is  difficult  to  speak  with  candour  without  the  use  of 
terms  which  the  character  of  respected  brethren 
might  seem  to  render  undesirable.  But  if  ever  there 
was  an  act,  not  merely  of  departure  from  order,  but 
of  high  treason  against  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
which  every  consideration  of  fidelity  and  honour 
ought  to  have  forbidden,  this,  undoubtedly,  is  one. 
An  act  to  be  accounted  for,  as  I  suppose,  only  on  the 
supposition  that  it  was  passed  hastily,  and  of  course 
without  that  due  deliberation,  which,  had  it  been 
calmly  exercised,  must  have  led,  I  should  think,  to  a 
different  result. 

But  whatever  might  have  been  the  inducements  to 
such  a  procedure,  or  the  circumstances  attending  it, 
it  cannot  be  regarded  in  any  other  light  than  as  a 
vital  offence  against  ecclesiastical  order;  as  a  compli- 
cated violation  of  the  fundamental  law  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church;  and  a  violation  adapted  really  to  sub- 
vert the  whole  system  of  our  church  government. 
Can  Presbyteries  which  admit  men  to  office  on  such 
terms  as  these,  expect  other  Presbyteries  to  receive 
them  to  the  usual  standing,  without  difficulty  or 
examination;  nay,  without  calling  upon  them  to  adopt 
a  Confession  which  they  have  never  yet  adopted.^ 
What  would  be  thought  of  that  magistrate  who 
should  so  far  violate  the  trust  reposed  in  him  by  the 
constitution  of  his  country,  as  to  dispense  with  oaths 
enjoined  by  law;  to  disregard  all  the  legal  qualifica- 
tions prescribed  for  those  whom  he  introduced  into 
office;  and  to  sanction  by  his  conduct  an  entire  negli- 
gence of  those  laws  which  he  had  solemnly  sworn  to 
obey?  Surely  the  severest  imputations  against  both 
his  moral  and  official  fidelity  would  not  be  thought 


218  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

unmerited.  What  opinion  would  be  formed  of  a 
township,  or  county,  in  a  great  state,  which,  in  the 
administration  of  its  affairs,  should  entirely  disre- 
gard the  statutes  which  were  equally  intended  for 
every  part  of  the  state,  and  instead  of  them,  adopt  a 
system  of  regulation  of  its  own  contrivance,  a  system 
directly  opposed  to  the  enactment  of  the  legislature, 
and  which  could  never  be  sanctioned  on  an  appeal  to 
the  highest  judicial  authority?  Could  such  a  course 
fail  of  being  condemned  by  every  enlightened  and 
patriotic  citizen.^  And  can  it  deserve  a  smaller 
degree  of  reprobation,  in  a  body  of  Christian  minis- 
ters, to  pursue  a  similar  course  with  the  laws  and 
interests  of  the  Church  of  Christy  to  change,  by 
their  private  agreement,  the  terms  of  admission  on 
which  the  whole  body  had  agreed  to  act;  to  admit 
persons  to  the  office  of  teaching  and  ruling  in  the 
body  over  which  they  presided,  who,  by  the  very 
terms  of  their  introduction,  declared  that  they  were 
not  the  friends  of  the  body,  that  is,  not  the  friends  of 
its  essential  constitution  and  rules; — in  a  word,  to 
pursue  a  course  directly  adapted  to  undermine  the 
foundation  of  the  Church's  purity  and  peace;  to 
change  her  fundamental  principles;  gradually  to  take 
away  all  the  landmarks  which  our  fathers  had  so 
carefully  set  up;  and,  while  the  public  standards  are 
really  abandoned,  to  deceive  us  with  the  empty  name 
of  Presbyterianism.^ 

I  have  not  the  remotest  idea  of  charging  the 
brethren  who  may  have  consented  to  this  measure, 
with  a  distinct  apprehension  of  its  real  character,  or 
with  a  disposition  covertly  and  insidiously  to  invite 
these  consequences.  No  such  views,  I  am  persuaded, 
occurred  to  their  minds;  and  probably  no  members 


LETTER  XII.  219 

of  the  Presbyterian  Church  -svould  be  more  ready  to 
abhor  such  principles  and  consequences,  had  they 
been  distinctly  contemplated.  Still  measures  may 
not  be  the  less  injurious  because  they  were  inadvert- 
ently adopted.  Many  a  potion  has  proved  fatally 
poisonous,  which  was  administered  with  the  most 
benevolent  intentions.  But  surely  no  sincere  and 
intelligent  Presbyterian  can  wish  for  accessions  to 
the  numbers  of  our  church  upon  principles  so  directly 
adapted  to  impair  her  strength,  to  destroy  her  peace, 
and  to  degrade  her  character! 

It  will  be  gratifying  to  me  to  find  that  the  alleged 
irregularity  against  which  I  have  been  arguing,  has 
never  occurred.  Unless  I  utterly  deceive  myself,  no 
disposition  to  credit  or  circulate  idle  rumours,  or  to 
magnify  real  faults,  in  reference  to  this  subject,  has 
a  place  in  my  bosom.  Much  rather  would  I  say  and 
do  every  thing  consistent  with  truth,  to  remove  pre- 
judices; to  allay  party  excitement;  and  to  unite  in 
affection  and  confidence  those  who  have  hitherto  been 
discordant.  But  I  dare  not,  in  discussing  the  general 
subject  before  me,  omit  to  notice  an  alleged  depar- 
ture from  Presbyterial  order,  which,  if  it  ever  had 
any  foundation  in  fact,  is  certainly  one  of  the  most 
radical  and  threatening  irregularities  which  I  have 
heard  of  as  charged  on  conscientious  and  pious 
men. 

IV.  I  shall,  at  present,  take  notice  of  only  one 
more  departure  from  our  ecclesiastical  order,  which 
has  already  given  much  uneasiness,  and  which  if  per- 
sisted in,  cannot  fail  of  giving  much  more,  and  per- 
haps of  a  still  more  serious  character.  I  refer  to  the 
practice  of  introducing"  Committee-men,"  under  the 


220  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

name,  and  with  the  powers,  of  ruling  elders,  into  the 
higher  judicatories  of  the  Church. 

It  was  my  lot  to  be  a  member  of  the  General  As- 
sembly, in  1801,  by  which  the  system  of  rules  out  of 
which  this  practice  has  grown,  was  formed,  and  pro- 
posed to  our  brethren  of  New  England.  I  can,  there- 
fore, speak  with  some  degree  of  confidence  concern- 
ing the  history  and  meaning  of  that  system.  It  was 
intended  to  obviate  a  difficulty  which  had  arisen  in 
organizing  churches  in  what  were  called  the  "  new 
settlements."  These  churches  were,  in  many  cases, 
made  up  of  Presbyterians  and  Congregationalists, 
who,  without  some  specific  arrangement,  might,  and 
often  did,  find  it  difficult  to  form  together  a  united 
and  comfortable  body.  To  meet  this  exigency,  the 
following  article  was  adopted.  "  If  any  Congregation 
consist  partly  of  those  who  hold  the  Congregational 
form  of  discipline,  and  partly  of  those  who  hold  the 
Presbyterian  form,  we  recommend  to  both  parties 
that  this  be  no  objection  to  their  uniting  in  one 
church,  and  settling  a  minister;  and  that  in  this  case 
the  church  choose  a  standing  committee  from  the 
communicants  of  said  church  whose  business  it  shall 
be  to  call  to  account  every  member  of  the  church 
who  shall  conduct  himself  inconsistently  with  the 
laws  of  Christianity,  and  to  give  judgment  on  such 
conduct.  And  if  the  person  condemned  by  their 
judgment  be  a  Presbyterian,  he  shall  have  liberty  to 
appeal  to  the  Presbytery:  if  a  Congregationalist,  he 
shall  have  liberty  to  appeal  to  the  body  of  the  male 
communicants  of  the  church.  In  the  former  case  the 
determination  of  the  Presbytery  shall  be  final,  unless 
the  church  consent  to  a  further  appeal  to  the  Synod, 
or  to  the  General  Assembly;  and  in  the  latter  case. 


LETTER    XII.  221 

if  the  party  condemned  shall  wish  for  a  trial  by  a  mu- 
tual council,  the  cause  shall  be  referred  to  such  coun- 
cil. And  provided  the  said  standing-  committee  of 
any  church  shall  depute  one  of  themselves  to  attend 
the  Presbytery,  he  may  have  the  same  right  to  sit  and 
act  in  the  Presbytery,  as  a  ruling  elder  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church." 

This  is  the  rule,  which  has  been  variously  inter- 
preted, and  on  which  a  practice  has  been  founded, 
which  many  consider  as  hostile  to  our  general  sys- 
tem, and  dangerous  to  the  purity  and  peace  of  our 
Church.  I  mean  the  practice  of  sending  these  "com- 
mittee-men," with  commissions  in  the  usual  form,  as 
ruling  elders,  to  the  General  Assembly.  In  consider- 
ing this  subject,  the  following  remarks  appear  to  me 
to  be  obvious. 

1.  In  the  first  place,  this  conciliatory  expedient  was 
manifestly,  from  its  whole  spirit  and  scope,  intended 
to  be  a  temporal^  arrangement,  to  meet  an  immature 
and  unsettled  state  of  things.;  and  by  no  means  to  be 
adopted  as  a  permanent  ecclesiastical  system.  It 
was  designed  and  adapted  for  "new  settlements," 
and  inchoate  churches;  and  became  inapplicable  when 
the  denominational  character  of  a  religious  commu- 
nity had  become  fixed.  In  all  cases  therefore,  in 
which  a  church  has  settled  down  regularly  on  the 
Congregational  plan,  and  there  is  no  longer  that  di- 
versity and  conflict  of  opinion  which  the  rule  contem- 
plates, every  principle  of  just  interpretation  forbids 
such  a  church  to  avail  itself  of  the  privilege  here  of- 
fered. The  privilege  belongs  exclusively  to  a  church 
made  up  partly  of  Presbyterians,  and  partly  of  Con- 
gregationalists,  who  cannot  agree  to  unite  on  any 
other  than  this  accommodating  plan.     It  is  manifest 

T  2 


222  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

then,  that  when  a  church  really  and  entirely  Con- 
gregational in  its  government  and  discipline,  avails 
itself  of  this  plan  to  send  a  "  connmittee-man,"  even 
to  the  Presbytery,  it  makes  a  use  of  the  plan  of  ac- 
commodalion  altogether  unjustifiable,  and  one  v^hich, 
however  honestly  intended,  ought  never  to  be  allowed. 
It  is  perverting  a  mutual  privilege  from  its  original 
design,  and  making  it  serve  a  purpose  which  its  spirit 
altogether  forbids. 

2.  My  second  remark  is,  that  the  power  of  "  com- 
mittee-men," such  as  the  rule  contemplates,  to  sit 
and  act  in  judicatory  in  place  of  ruling  elders,  obvi- 
ously extends  710  farther  than  the  presbytery.  The 
rule  says  expressly  that  they  shall  be  allowed  to  sit 
in  the  Presbytery;  but  says  not  a  word  of  any  other 
or  higher  judicatory.  Now,  as  it  is  drawn  up  with 
remarkable  caution  and  explicitness,  we  may  reason- 
ably suppose  that  no  other  judicatory  than  the  Pres- 
bytery v/as  intended  to  be  recognised.  I  will  not  un- 
dertake to  assert  that,  at  the  time  of  its  formation  this 
was  distinctly  understood  and  expressed;  for  of  this 
ray  recollection  is  not  clear;  but  it  is  plain  that  the 
letter  of  the  rule,  its  general  spirit,  and  a  variety  of 
important  considerations  bearing  on  our  form  of  go- 
vernment, constrains  us  to  believe  that  such  was  the 
original  design  of  those  who  formed  and  adopted  the 
plan.  That  these  "committee-men,"  representing 
particular  churches,  should  have  seats  in  Presbytery, 
for  the  purpose  of  watching  over  their  own  interests, 
all  will  allow  to  be  reasonable  and  important.  But 
that  they  should  be  sent  to  the  highest  judicatories, 
to  assist  in  judicial  decisions  for  the  whole  Church, 
will  hardly  be  regarded  by  any  as  either  safe  or  rea- 
sonable. 


LETTER    XII.  223 

3.  A  third  remark  worthy  of  regard  in  reference  to 
this  matter  is,  that,  if"  the  committee-men"  in  ques- 
tion were  permitted  to  sit  and  vote  in  the  higher  ju- 
dicatories of  the  Church,  and  especially  in  the  Gene- 
ral Assembly,  the  practice  would  have  a  most  une- 
qual OPERATION,  and  could  scarcely  fail  of  giving  rise 
to  painful  apprehension,  if  not  to  actual  danger.  Ac- 
cording to  the  constitution  of  our  Church,  all  the  mi- 
nisters and  ruling  elders  who  are  regularly  connected 
with  our  judicatories,  are  required,  previously  to 
their  admission  to  office,  solemnly  to  adopt  the  Con- 
fession of  Faith  of  our  Church,  as  "  containing  the 
system  of  doctrine  taught  in  the  Holy  Scriptures;'* 
and  also  to  declare  that  they  "  approve  of  the  go- 
vernment and  discipline  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  these  United  States."  Now,  when  these  solemn 
declarations  are  required  of  all  those  who  strictly  be- 
long to  our  own  body; — when  not  one  Presbyterian 
minister  or  elder  is  pei-mitted  to  occupy  a  place  in 
any  of  our  judicatories,  without  bringing  himself 
under  the  obligations  which  result  from  the  formal 
assent  which  has  been  stated;  is  it  reasonable,  is  it 
equitable,  to  give  the  very  same  privilege  and  power, 
on  easier  terms,  to  brethren  who  are  not,  properly 
speaking,  members  of  our  body  at  all;  who  have 
never  subscribed  our  public  standards;  nay  more, 
wno  practically  tell  us,  by  the  very  principles  on 
which  they  present  themselves  as  candidates  for  seats 
in  our  judicatories,  that  they  do  not  approve  our  Form 
of  Government,  and  cannot  assent  to  our  Confession 
of  Faith?  Is  it  reasonable  in  itself;  can  it  be  justified 
on  any  principle,  that  we  should  admit  those  brethren 
to  seats  in  our  highest  judicatory,  there  to  give  au- 
thoritative votes;  votes  which  perhaps,  may  turn  the 


224  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

scale  in  modifying  the  laws,  and  controlling  the  affairs 
of  that  Church,  to  the  constitution  of  which  they 
have  such  insuperable  repugnance,  that  they  are  con- 
strained in  conscience  to  stand  aloof  from  it;  and 
never,  in  fact,  attempt  to  approach  it,  but  for  the 
purpose  of  taking  a  part  in  its  government?  I  ask 
again,  is  this  reasonable  or  proper?  Ought  it  to  be 
desired  by  those  brethren,  or  granted  to  them  if  de- 
sired? I  cannot  help  believing  that  every  intelligent 
and  impartial  judge  will  feel  ready  to  give  to  these 
questions  a  prompt  and  decisive  negative. 

4.  An  objection  still  stronger  may  be  brought 
against  the  practice  which  has  sometimes  been 
adopted,  of  commissioning  these  "  committee-men" 
under  the  title  of  "  ruling  elders,"  and  formally  an- 
nouncing them,  in  writing  to  the  General  Assembly, 
as  such.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  language  of  the 
rule  is,  that  when  committee-men,  in  the  circum- 
stances supposed,  shall  present  themselves  to  a  Pres- 
bytery, they  "  shall  have  the  same  right  to  sit  and  act, 
in  the  Presbytery,  as  a  ruling  elder  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church."  Every  part  of  this  system  of  rules 
requires  that,  when  they  appear  in  Presbytery,  they 
should  be  known  in  their  real  character;  not  under 
an  assumed  guise  or  name.  No  part  of  the  regula- 
tion in  question,  either  in  its  letter  or  spirit,  will  jus- 
tify this.  It  is  a  flagrant  deception.  In  addition  to 
all  the  serious  objections  which  have  been  already 
stated,  this  is  liable  to  the  charge  of  palpably  violat- 
ing good  faith,  and  concealing  the  truth  for  the  sake 
of  carrying  a  point.  How  conscientious,  honourable 
men,  could  persuade  themselves  that  this  was  a  justi- 
fiable course,  I  presume  not  to  decide.  Were  I  a 
"  committee-man,"  I  would  no  more  present  such  a 


LETTER  XII.  225 

commission  at  the  table  of  the  General  Assembly, 
than  I  would  forge  a  deed,  or  counterfeit  a  bank-note. 
Whenever  they  appear  in  judicatories,  they  ought  to 
be  announced  in  their  true  character — simply  as 
"committee-men,"  that  the  whole  case  may  be  at 
once  understood  and  appreciated. 

Concerning  the  gross  impropriety  of  commission- 
ing as  a  delegate  to  the  General  Assembly,  and  ex- 
pressly announcing,  in  his  commission,  as  a  "  ruling 
elder,"  a  brother  who  is  not  even  a  "  committee 
man," — which  has,  I  believe,  occurred  j  it  is  presumed 
no  one  can  hesitate  for  a  moment  to  give  it  up  to  the 
most  severe  and  unqualified  reprobation.  All  these 
things  are  the  more  exceptionable,  and  deserve  the 
heavier  censure,  because  they  pervert,  and  tend  to 
render  odious  a  plan  founded  in  Christian  charity, 
and  intended  to  promote  Christian  harmony.  He 
who  can  palpaply  violate,  while  he  seems  to  be  obey- 
ing, the  provisions  of  such  a  plan,  may  be  compared 
to  the  man  who,  in  secular  warfare,  should  violate  a 
"  flag  of  truce." 

I  must  be  allowed  again  to  declare,  that  in  making 
these  statements,  and  in  expressing  this  censure,  I 
am  very  far  from  imputing  to  any  Presbytery  or  bro- 
ther, with  whom  any  irregularity  of  the  kind  specified 
may  have  occurred,  that  charge  of  moral  obliquity 
which  might  seem  to  be  implied.  By  no  means.  I 
know  too  well  the  occasional  inadvertence,  or  tem- 
porary excitement,  to  which  good  men  are  often  lia- 
ble, especially  in  conducting  affairs  which  have  be- 
come implicated  with  party  feelings.  Siill,  while  the 
men  are  acquitted  from  all  intentional  offence,  it  is 
impossible  to  justify  their  measures.     The  tendency 


226  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

of  these  measures  to  generate  mischief,  has  not  been 
overrated,  I  am  persuaded,  in  the  smallest  degree. 

There  is  such  a  thing,  however,  as  being  sticklers 
for  the  letter  of  Presbyterial  order,  while  the  spirit  of 
it  is  disregarded.  I  have  known  persons  whose  at- 
tachment to  our  form  of  church  government,  was,  to 
say  the  least,  very  questionable,  who  contended  for 
its  technical  niceties  and  zealously  urged  its  minutest 
rules,  when  they  could  be  employed  to  embarrass 
and  defeat  an  adversary,  or  delay  the  course  of  disci- 
plinej  while  the  broad  and  noble  principles  of  the 
system  appeared  to  be  willingly  overlooked,  and  even 
recklessly  trampled  upon.  Often,  very  often  has  the 
disposition  imputed  by  our  Lord  to  the  Pharisees  of 
old, — to  "  strain  at  a  gnat,  and  swallow  a  camel," 
been  strikingly  exemplified,  by  some,  who  cannot  too 
highly  applaud  the  Presbyterian  system,  v^hen  they 
can  employ  its  provisions  to  carry  a  point  of  unjust 
policy^  or  too  unceremoniously  depreciate  its  best 
principles,  when  their  operation  appeared  unfriendly 
to  party  plans.  Nothing  is  more  adapted  to  render 
the  system  odious,  than  this  perversion  of  its  laws. 
f  No  system,  I  will  venture  to  say,  in  the  world,  is  so 
well  adapted  to  promote  the  peace,  purity,  and  edifi- 
cation of  the  Church,  as  this,  when  applied  in  the 
true  spirit  of  Gospel  candour  and  charity:  and  none 
more  capable  of  being  made  an  instrument  of  vexa- 
tious entanglement  and  delay,  and  of  giving  an  un- 
righteous cause  a  temporary  triumph,  when  an  inge- 
nious and  reckless  "troubler  of  Israel'*  undertakes  to 
expound  and  apply  it.  Carry  this  form  of  govern- 
ment into  execution  fairly,  impartially,  and  firmly, 
and  it  will  commend  itself  to  the  judgment  of  every 
enlightened   Christian.      Its   happy  results    will    be 


LETTER  XII.  227 

order,  justice  and  peace.  But  trample  on  its  great 
and  essential  principles,  and  stickle  only  for  its  petty, 
restraining  by-laws,  and  the  result  may  be  vexation 
and  strife  without  end.  — 

But  I  will  not  dwell  longer  on  the  details  of  this 
subject.  Every  part  of  the  received  order  of  the 
Church  is  important  to  those  who  have  agreed  to  act 
together  as  one  body.  We  may  say  this  of  every 
Christian  denomination.  The  truth  is,  however, 
there  is  no  form  of  ecclesiastical  government  in 
which  departures  from  prescribed  order  are  more 
mischievous  in  their  bearing  and  consequences,  than 
the  Presbyterian.  All  her  judicatories,  from  the  low- 
est to  the  highest,  are  supposed  in  theory,  and  ought 
in  fact,  to  be  made  up  of  men  who  have  all  subscribed 
the  same  public  standards,  and  who  are  all  attached 
to  the  same  system  of  doctrine  and  order.  They  are 
all  supposed,  of  course,  to  speak  the  same  language, 
and  to  be  governed  by  the  same  discipline.  Now,  as 
was  remarked  in  a  former  letter,  "  things  equal  to  one 
and  the  same  thing  are  of  course,  equal  to  one  ano- 
ther." Consequently,  all  the  several  parts  of  this  ex- 
tended body  must  be  considered  as  agreeing  with 
each  other,  or  its  essential  principle  is  abandoned. 
Upon  this  principle  it  is,  as  stated  in  a  preceding 
letter,  that,  when  any  difficulty  arises,  or  when  an 
appeal  is  taken  from  the  decision  of  a  lower  judica- 
tory, a  higher  one,  comprehending  a  larger  por- 
tion of  the  whole  body,  reviews  the  decision  of  the 
lower,  and  either  confirms  or  reverses  it.  But  if  the 
lower  judicatory  should  disregard  the  rules  which 
have  been  adopted  for  the  regulation  of  the  whole 
body;  in  other  words,  if  it  should  prescribe  for  itself 
a  different  set  of  rules  from  those  laid  down  in  our 


228  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

public  formularies,  how  could  it  expect  to  appear 
with  advantage  before  the  higher  court,  in  which 
these  formularies  were  regarded  as  containing  the 
law  of  the  Church?  In  fact,  when  any  of  our  judica- 
tories venture  to  proceed,  in  any  case,  in  opposition 
to  the  prescribed  order  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
they  violate  their  covenant  engagements^  they  weaken 
the  hands  of  their  brethren  with  whom  they  have 
agreed  to  walk 5  and  they  may  be  preparing  an 
amount  of  trouble  for  themselves  and  others,  of 
which  no  one  can  calculate  the  amount,  or  see  the 
termination. 

Princeton,  April,  1833. 


LETTER   XIII.  229 

LETTER  XIII. 

Selecting  and  Licensing  Candidates. 

Christian  Brethren, 

Every  new  exigency  in  the  Church  demands  new 
efforts;  and  every  new  effort  gives  rise  to  new  dan- 
gers. When  we  commence  the  prosecution  of  any 
important  enterprise,  especially  if  the  character  of 
that  enterprise  partake  in  any  considerable  degree  of 
novelty^  it  is  apt  so  to  fill  our  minds,  as  too  much  to 
exclude  from  our  view  other  objects,  and  to  prevent 
our  seeing  the  various  perils  which  attend  our  course. 
The  tendency  of  human  nature  is  ever  to  extremes. 
And  it  is  only  when  we  see  evils  which  we  had  not 
anticipated  beginning  to  arise,  that  we  are  constrain- 
ed to  pause,  and  doubt  whether  we  have  been  altoge- 
ther judicious  in  our  proceedings. 

A  number  of  years  ago,  some  of  the  most  intelli- 
gent and  zealous  friends  of  our  Church  began  to  be 
alarmed  at  the  scantiness  of  our  supply  of  Gospel  la- 
bourers^ compared  with  the  extent  of  the  demand, 
both  for  the  domestic  and  foreign  field.  The  harvest 
was  seen  to  be  great,  and  rapidly  extending;  while 
"  the  labourers  were  few,"  and  by  no  means  increasing 
in  a  corresponding  ratio.  It  was  distinctly  foreseen, 
that,  without  some  extraordinary  efforts,  a  deplora- 
ble scarcity  of  living  teachers  must  be  the  conse- 
quence; and  that  the  progress,  and  even  unimpaired 
continuance  of  Gospel  ordinances  must  be  seriously 
endangered.     In  these  circumstances,    the    General 

u 


230  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

Assembly  commenced  a  system  of  measures  intend- 
ed to  meet  this  pressing  exigency.  It  called  upon 
the  Presbyteries  to  select  and  educate  pious  young 
men  for  the  work  of  the  ministry^  entreated  them  to 
raise  funds  for  this  purpose;  and  made  it  their  duty 
to  report  to  the  Assembly  from  year  to  year,  what 
they  had  done  in  this  important  concern.  And  this 
object  has  been  steadily  pursued  by  the  Assembly, 
with  various  degrees  of  zeal  and  success,  from  that 
time  to  the  present;  until  the  enterprise  has  reached 
an  extent  and  prosperity  truly  interesting.  Even  yet, 
indeed,  it  continues  to  be  a  problem  of  painfully  dif- 
ficult solution,  where  we  are  to  find  ministers  to  meet 
the  hourly  increasing  calls  for  evangelical  labour 
from  every  part  of  our  own  country,  and  the  heathen 
world.  We  are  so  far,  as  yet,  from  having  any 
prospect  of  an  over  supply,  that  if  our  candidates 
for  the  ministry  were  multiplied  five,  or  even  tenfold 
beyond  the  present  state  of  annual  increase,  we 
should  not  have  more  than  the  exigencies  of  our 
Church,  and  of  the  missionary  service  most  urgently 
demand. 

Even  in  these  circumstances,  however,  we  may  be 
by  far  too  much  in  haste  to  make  ministers.  And  it 
is  to  this  point,  my  Christian  brethren,  that  I  now 
earnestly  desire  to  direct  your  serious  attention. 
There  is,  undoubtedly,  prevalent  a  great  mistake  in 
relation  to  this  matter.  It  seems  to  be  the  opinion  of 
many  that  almost  any  young  man  who  appears  to  be 
pious,  will  do  for  a  minister,  whatever  may  be  the 
character  of  his  mind.  Now,  it  is  true,  we  urgently 
need  many  more  ministers  than  we  possess,  or  have 
any  prospect  of  gaining,  to  go  forth  and  feed  the  des- 
titute and  perishing  millions  in  every  part  of  our  re- 


LETTER  XIII.  231 

volted  world.  But  we  still  more  urgently  need  mi- 
nisters of  an  elevated  and  scriptural  character. 
There  is  a  great  want  of  Gospel  labourers;  but  there 
is  a  still  greater  want  of  luell  qualified  labourers,  in 
whom  piety,  wisdom,  prudence,  zeal  and  learning 
are  conspicuously  united.  One  such  man  will  really 
be  likely  to  do  more  good — far  more  good-=-thany?/'/^ 
unqualified  men,  or  men  not  furnished  in  some  mea- 
sure, by  nature,  by  grace,  and  by  study,  as  public 
teachers  and  guides  ought  to  be  furnished.  Of  course, 
if  we  could  add  ten  thousand  men  to  the  list  of  our 
ministers;  yet  if  four-fifths  of  them  were  men  of  small 
and  dubious  piety;  or  if  they  were  ignorant,  weak, 
rash,  imprudent  men,  however  pious; — would  the 
Church  be  really  benefited  by  such  an  addition?  No, 
truly:  the  obtaining  them,  would  rather  be  the  inflic- 
tion of  a  curse  than  the  bestowment  of  a  blessing.  In 
the  days  of  Paul  the  scarcity  of  ministers,  and  the 
urgent  demand  for  them,  were  far  more  pressing  than 
in  our  day,  yet,  even  then,  the  inspired  apostle  was 
very  particular  in  prescribing  qualifications,  without 
which  he  decided  that  no  one  ought  to  be  admitted 
to  the  sacred  office. 

But  if  there  was  danger,  even  in  that  age  of  perse- 
cution and  trial,  that  men  without  suitable  qualifica- 
tions would  offer  themselves  as  candidates  for  the 
holy  ministry,  how  much  greater  is  the  same  danger 
notv^  when  religion  is  to  a  great  extent  popular;  when 
the  ministry  is  regarded  as  a  highly  respectable  of- 
fice; and  when  the  temptation  is  really  strong  to  an 
enlightened  and  ingenuous  youth,  to  escape  from  the 
various  forms  of  secular  and  servile  employment,  and 
engage  in  one  at  once  so  elevated,  so  useful,  and  so 
truly  honoured  by  the  best  part  of  society!     Yet  this 


232  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

danger  has  never  appeared  to  me  to  be  adequately 
appreciated  by  those, — or  at  least  by  some  of  those 
who  are  engaged  in  the  arduous  and  responsible  task 
of  selecting  and  training  candidates  for  the  service 
of  the  Church. 

It  is  well  known  that  (so  soul-destroying  are  the  fas- 
cinations of  wealth  and  luxury,)  comparatively  few 
of  the  children  of  the  affluent  and  honourable  in  so- 
ciety are  piousj  and  that  fewer  still  of  this  class  are 
disposed  to  seek  the  self-denying  and  laborious  office 
of  the  ministry.  A  large  portion  of  those  who  are 
willing  to  engage  as  labourers,  for  life,  in  the  Lord's 
harvest,  are  in  humble  circumstances,  and  need  the 
parental  aid  of  the  Church  to  sustain  them  in  their 
course  of  preparation;  and,  of  course,  are  so  situated 
as  to  be  peculiarly  exposed  to  the  temptation  of  seek- 
ing the  ministry  from  motives  of  a  mixed  character, 
partaking  in  some  degree  of  secular  ambition.  There 
was  a  time,  indeed,  when  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
the  United  States  had  little  to  tempt  any  aspiring 
youth  to  seek  a  place  among  her  pastors.  But  it 
surely  cannot  be  denied  that  noio  there  is  much  in  our 
body  which  is  well  adapted  to  excite  the  ambition  of 
one  who  is  presented  with  an  offer  of  being  raised 
from  a  servile  or  mechanical  employment  to  a  place 
in  our  ministry.  This  circumstance,  indeed,  ought 
by  no  means  to  prevent  the  off*er  from  being  made, 
on  all  proper  occasions;  but  it  certainly  ought  to  ren- 
der those  who  make  it  exceedingly  cautious  and  vigi- 
lant that  they  present  it  to  none  but  such  as  they  have 
good  reason  to  believe  will  be  likely  really  to  adorn 
the  office  to  which  they  are  invited. 

We  know  that,  even  in  the  established  churches  of 
Europey  where  both  the  circumstances  and  the  habits. 


LETTER  XIII.  233 

of  the  people  render  family  distinction  both  promi- 
nent and  important — many  of  the  most  distinguished 
prelates,  and  other  clergymen  of  the  highest  reputa- 
tion, have  been  of  very  humble  origin;  and  this  was 
so  far  from  discrediting  them  with  the  wise  and  good, 
that  the  circumstance  was  rather  considered  as  an 
honourable  distinction,  evincing,  on  their  part,  a 
force  of  character,  and  a  degree  of  diligence  and  en- 
terprise, worthy  of  the  highest  estimation.  The 
same  has  occurred  in  our  own  Church,  both  in  former 
and  later  times.  It  is  delightful  to  the  Christian's 
heart  to  recollect  how  many  bright  ornaments  of  the 
sacred  office  in  our  communion  were  taken  from  the 
humbler  walks  of  life,  and  aided  by  the  bounty  of 
their  friends,  or  of  the  Church,  in  pursuing  their  stu- 
dies. It  was  a  happy  day  for  the  Church,  and  for 
themselves,  when  they  were  drawn  from  obscurity, 
and  put  into  that  course  of  training  which  issued  so 
well  both  for  their  comfort  And  usefulness. 

At  the  present  time,  when  the  number  of  candi- 
dates taken  up  by  Education  Societies  is  every  day 
becoming  larger;  and  when  the  inconsiderate  par- 
tiality of  some  sanguine  pastors  leads  them  to  fasten 
with  eagerness  on  almost  every  young  man  within 
their  charges  who  becomes  serious,  as  a  candidate 
for  the  holy  ministry; — the  importance  of  wise  and 
faithful  discrimination  in  selecting,  was  never  more 
manifest.  In  these  circumstances,  he  who  does  not 
wish  the  Church  to  misapply  her  bounty,  and  to  as- 
sume a  burden,  rather  than  gain  a  blessing,  will  be 
conscientiously  careful  to  recommend  no  candidate 
either  to  an  Education  Society,  or  to  private  patron- 
age, who  does  not  really  promise  to  be  an  ornament 
and  a  blessing  in  the  house  of  God.  In  particular,  I 
u  2 


234  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

feel  constrained  to  urge  the  most  serious  regard  to 
the  following  considerations:— 

1.  That  none  be  recommended,  or  even  counte- 
nanced, in  going  forward  to  prepare  for  the  sacred 
office,  who  does  not  give  decisive  evidence  of  sin- 
cere AND  HUMBLE  PIETY.  I  do  not  merely  mean  that 
he  should  give  that  amount  of  evidence  of  what  we 
are  wont  to  call  "  hopeful  piety,"  which  we  require 
of  all  who  are  admitted  to  the  communion  of  the  vi- 
sible Church.  My  meaning  goes  much  beyond  this. 
The  piety  of  a  candidate  for  the  ministry  ought  to  be 
deep,  unquestionable,  and  strongly  marked.  We  ex- 
pect ministers  of  the  pospel  to  be  net  only  pious,  but 
eminently  pious : — to  go  before  their  people  in  this  as 
well  as  every  other  department  of  Christian  charac- 
ter. Every  unconverted  minister  ^vi\\  probably  prove 
a  curse  rather  than  a  blessing  to  the  Church.  Every 
minister  of  feeble,  wavering,  and  dubious  piety,  even 
though  learned  and  eloqiient,  will  be  likely  to  be  of 
little  use,  and  to  have  little  comfort  in  his  work. 
And  when  large  numbers  of  unsanctified  men  are  in- 
troduced into  the  sacred  office  in  any  church,  her 
true  glory  will  have  departed.  Doctrinal  error  will 
soon  insidiously  creep  in.  The  benefit  even  of  the 
portion  of  truth  which  they  preach,  will  in  most 
cases  be  counteracted  by  pride,  ambition,  unsancti- 
fied speculation,  heresy,  or  unsavoury  deportment; 
and  the  best  interests  of  the  "  commonwealth  of  Is- 
rael" will  perish  in  their  hands.  Whatever  else, 
then,  is  overlooked,  or  slightly  regarded,  in  selecting 
and  training  candidates  for  the  sacred  office,  personal 
piety — piety  deep,  undoubted,  and  exemplary — is  the 
first,  most  important,  and  most  radical  of  all  qualifi- 
cations.    If  there  be   any  serious  doubt,  as  to  this 


LETTER  XIII.  235 

point,  no  young  man,  however  otherwise  promising, 
ought  ever  to  be  encouraged,  for  one  moment,  in 
seeking  the  sacred  office.  Especially  ought  nothing 
of  this  kind  to  be  whispered  to  him  until  the  reality 
of  his  conversion  has  borne  the  test  of  a  number  of 
months.  I  have  now  in  my  recollection  cases  in 
which  a  contrary  policy  was  pursued,  and  in  which 
the  results  were  painful  and  melancholy  in  a  high  de- 
gree.    But, 

2.  After  the  best  endeavours  to  ascertain  the  re- 
ality of  this  first  and  greatest  qualification,  no  consi- 
deration should  induce  any  one  to  be  satisfied  with 
mere  piety,  however  decisive  and  fervent.  The  pos- 
session   of    GOOD     NATURAL    TALENTS    should    alsO    bc 

deemed  equally  indispensable.  The  truth  is,  a  man 
of  a  weak,  childish  mind,  though  he  were  as  pious 
as  Gabriel,  can  never  make  a  respectable  or  truly  use- 
ful minister,  and  ought  never  to  be  invested  with  the 
sacred  office  at  all.  With  respect  to  a  large  portion 
of  the  duties  pertaining  to  that  office,  he  is  utterly 
unqualified  to  perform  them;  and  he  will  be  in  con- 
stant danger  of  rendering  both  himself  and  his  office 
contemptible.  Here  again  my  recollection,  for  the 
last  thirty  years,  furnishes  me  with  no  inconsiderable 
list  of  cases  truly  instructive  and  admonitory  in  their 
character.  Cases  in  which,  at  the  instance  of  partial 
friends,  who  seemed  to  think  that  apparent  piety  was 
the  only  thing  to  be  regarded, — large  expenditures 
were  incurred  in  training  up  young  men  for  the  sa- 
cred desk,  who,  after  reaching  it,  gave  but  too  much 
evidence  that,  if  they  had  been  pious,  exemplary  me- 
chanics, or  merchants,  they  would  have  served  the 
cause  of  Christ  far  more  effectually  than  as  public 
teachers;  and  who  have  continued,  for  many  years^ 


236  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

through  entire  incompelence,  to  be  a  hindrance  rather 
than  helpers  of  the  great  cause  which  they  appeared 
really  to  love.  It  might  seem  almost  an  insult  to 
common  sense  to  say  a  word  by  way  of  enforcing  this 
point,  did  we  not  frequently  see  enlightened  indivi- 
duals, and  public  bodies,  acting  as  if  they  still  doubt- 
ed of  its  truth! 

3.  Prudence  is  another  quality  which  ought  ever 
to  be  deemed  indispensable  in  those  who  are  selected 
and  encouraged  to  go  forward  as  candidates  for  the 
holy  ministry.  A  youth  may  possess  unfeigned  piety, 
and  talents  far  above  mediocrity,  and  yet  be  so 
strikingly  deficient  in  dignity,  in  common  sense,  in 
regard  to  the  decencies  and  proprieties  of  life,  in  one 
word,  in  practical  wisdom,  as  to  be  totally  unfit  for 
the  work  of  the  ministry.  It  is  not  enough,  there- 
fore, in  bringing  forward  candidates  for  the  holy  of- 
fice, in  such  a  day  as  this,  to  ascertain  that  they  give 
satisfactory  evidence  of  genuine  piety,  and  vigorous 
talents.  If  they  be  characteristically  rash,  impru- 
dent, censorious,  strikingly  vain,  or  ridiculously  ec- 
centric, my  judgment  would  be  decisive  against  en- 
couraging them  to  think  of  the  Gospel  ministry.  I 
should  consider  a  manifest,  striking  defect  in  these 
particulars,  as  a  barrier  in  the  way  quite  as  insur- 
mountable as  the  want  of  piety: — and,  if  I  mistake 
not,  the  New  Testament  will  fully  bear  me  out  in 
this  decision. 

4.  It  is  manifest  that  none  ought  to  be  selected  and 
trained  by  the  Church,  unless  they  appear  to  be  sin- 
cere   FRIENDS    TO    HER    DOCTRINE    AND  ORDER.       I   am 

aware  that  young  men  recently  brought  into  the  visi- 
ble church,  and  seeking  an  education  with  a  view  to 
the  Gospel  ministry,  cannot  be  supposed  to  have  stu- 


LETTER  XIII.  ^37 

died  either  systematic  theolog-y,  or  church  govern- 
mentj  and  therefore,  I  would  never  call  upon  them, 
previously  to  engaging  in  professional  study,  to  sub- 
scribe a  creed,  or  to  give  any  pledge  of  future  con- 
formity to  our  public  formularies.  These  subjects 
it  will  be  their  duty  afterwards  impartially  to  ex- 
amine. Of  course,  to  call  upon  them  to  commit 
themselves  prior  to  an  examination  would  be  prepos- 
terous in  itself,  and  might  be  a  snare  to  conscience. 

When  they  shall  have  honestly  and  impartially  ex- 
amined, if  they  cannot  agree  with  our  ecclesiastical 
standards,  I  should  be  the  last  to  criminate  or  re- 
proach them.  The  moment  they  have  thus  decided, 
let  them  quietly  and  honourably  withdraw.  But  it 
sometimes  happens  that  a  young  man,  who  has  been 
selected  as  a  candidate  for  the  ministry,  even  before 
he  begins  his  academical  course,  and  frequently  at 
the  outset  of  his  theological  studies,  is  heard  to  ridi- 
cule the  doctrines  of  our  Confession  of  Faith,  and  to 
speak  with  disrespect,  if  not  with  contempt,  of  our 
Form  of  Government.  Such  young  men,  surely, 
ought  never  to  be  taken  up  as  candidates  for  the  mi- 
nistry by  any  of  our  Presbyteries^  and  especially 
ought  never  to  be  sustained  by  funds  derived  from 
the  Presbyterian  Church.  It  cannot  be  said  of  thein 
that  they  have  not  yet  made  up  their  minds  on  these 
subjects;  for,  unless  they  are  rash  and  presumptuous 
to  a  most  criminal  degree,  they  have  made  them  up, 
or  they  surely  could  not  denounce  and  ridicule  the 
doctrines  and  order  of  that  church  which  is  daily 
sustaining  them,  and  among  whose  teachers  and  ru- 
lers they  are  preparing  to  take  their  station!  No  one 
abhors  more  than  I  do  an  inquisitorial  interference 
with  the  rights  of  private  judgment  in  ingenuous 


238  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

youth.  It  is  only  when  any  publicly  proclaim  them- 
selves as  recreant  from  the  faith  and  order  of  the 
mother  who  is  nurturing  them  for  her  own  service, 
that  I  would  take  them  at  their  word,  and  allow  them 
to  find  other  patrons.  It  argues,  indeed,  great  coarse- 
ness and  torpor  of  the  moral  sense  in  such  youth, 
when  they  are  willing  to  stand  in  this  relation  to  a 
Church  to  which  they  are  not  cordial  friends;  but  it 
argues  no  less  infatuation  in  the  Church  herself  to  ex- 
pend her  m.eans  in  the  support  of  enemies,  not  even 
in  disguise.  When  she  consents  to  do  this,  she  is 
unfaithful  to  her  trust,  and  is,  no  doubt,  sowing  the 
seeds  of  internal  mischief  of  the  most  distressing  and 
dangerous  character. 

If  these  things  be  so,  who  does  not  see  that,  in  the 
present  age  of  educational  enterprise  for  the  Church; 
when  hundreds  of  youth  are  training  for  the  sacred 
work,  and  hundreds  more  are  eagerly  sought  and 
prayed  for,  to  carry  on  the  Lord's  harvest;  when 
Presbyteries  and  Committees,  in  every  part  of  our 
ecclesiastical  bounds,  are  busy  in  the  work  of  select- 
ing and  bringing  forward  young  men  to  "  bear  the 
vessels  of  the  Lord;" — who  does  not  see  that  the  con- 
siderations of  which  I  have  been  speaking — always 
highly  important,  are  noiv  invested  with  a  double  im- 
portance, nay,  with  a  tenfold  greater  interest  than  ever 
before  in  our  day.^  Unless  we  examine  with  caution, 
and  select  with  sacred  care;  unless  we  take  counsel 
of  our  fears,  as  well  as  of  our  sanguine  hopes;  unless 
we  learn  the  unwelcome  art  of  repressing  the  for- 
ward, and  rejecting  the  unworthy — as  well  as  the 
more  pleasing  task  of  encouraging  the  modest  and 
timid;  we  shall,  in  the  midst  of  all  our  honest  zeal 
for  the  cause  of  Christ,  be  in  danger  of  filling  the 


LETTER   XIII.  2 39 

Church  with  drones  and  pests,  with  clerical  igno- 
rance, imbecility,  heresy  and  carnal  ambition,  while 
we  fondly  dream  that  we  are  preparing  faithful  la- 
bourers for  her  service. 

Be  not  in  haste,  then,  my  Christian  brethren,  when 
precious  revivals  of  religion  have  hopefully  brought 
a  number  of  amiable  young  men  into  the  Redeemer's 
kingdom^ — be  not  in  haste  to  hold  up  to  the  mass  of 
them  without  distinction,  the  offer  and  the  prospect 
of  being  ministers.  Wait  patiently.  Discriminate 
carefully.  Remember  that  the  object  in  view  is  not 
to  gratify  personal  feelings,  or  to  soothe  parental  par- 
tialities; but  to  search  out,  and  bring  forward  for  the 
service  of  the  Church,  not  the  greatest  possible  number  ^ 
but  the  most  select  and  excellent  choice  of  the  sanctified 
youth  of  each  flock. 

But  momentous  as  is  the  task  of  selecting  candi- 
dates for  the  holy  ministry,  no  less  monxentous  is  the 

trust  of  ORDERING   THEIR   PREPARATORY    STUDIES,    and 

presiding  over  their  whole  professional  training. 
And  in  reference  to  the  latter  point  as  well  as  the  for- 
mer, the  present  state  of  our  Church  appears  to  me 
to  call  for  the  most  profound  and  solemn  considera- 
tion. 

It  cannot  be  disguised,  and  ought  to  be  known  to 
all  who  wish  well  to  the  Presbyterian  Church,  that 
only  a  very  small  part  of  our  candidates  for  the  minis- 
try can  be  prevailed  upon  to  go  through  a  regular  or 
adequate  course  of  study  preparatory  to  the  sacred 
office.  This  is  an  evil  of  deep  and  painful  import. 
In  spite  of  every  remonstrance  that  has  been  urged 
against  it,  both  by  judicatories  and  individuals,  it 
does  not  appear  in  the  least  degree  to  diminish.  And 
if  it  should  go  on  to  prevail,  it  is  not  possible  to  mea- 


240  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

sure  the  mischief  which  will  be  likely  to  arise  from  it 
to  the  Church  of  God. 

When  Theological  Seminaries  were  erected  at 
great  expense,  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  wished  to 
pursue  a  course  of  study  for  the  holy  ministry,  it  was 
taken  for  granted  that  they  would  generally  and  ea- 
gerly avail  themselves  of  the  advantages  thus  afford- 
ed^ and  that  the  Church  would  soon  be  furnished  with 
a  generation  of  ministers  who  should  manifest  the 
superior  training  under  which  they  had  been  placed. 
It  is  deeply  to  be  lamented  that  this  expectation  has 
not  been  more  happily  realized.  But  so  it  is  : — and 
unless  public  sentiment,  the  most  potent  of  all  earthly 
rulers — should  be  made,  by  the  divine  blessing,  to 
effect  the  conquest  of  an  evil  which  has  set  at  defi- 
ance every  other  influence,  we  must  sit  down,  for 
aught  I  can  see,  under  the  humiliating  impression 
that  the  Church  has  provided  these  facilities,  so  far 
as  respects  a  majority  of  her  sons,  in  a  great  measure 
in  vain. 

The  reasons  of  this  unhappy  fact  among  our  can- 
didates, are  various.  Some  plead  for  such  an  abridg- 
ment of  their  studies  as  they  know  to  be  injurious,  on 
account  of  the  want  of  pecuniary  support  for  a  more 
extended  course.  In  other  words,  they  think  it  right 
to  enter  on  the  duties  of  the  sacred  office,  but  half 
qualified  for  their  discharge,  because  the  providence 
of  God  has  interposed  an  obstacle  in  their  way, 
which  a  little  patience  and  perseverance,  or  a  little 
humility  in  accepting  aid,  would  enable  them  to  sur- 
mount. And  thus,  instead  of  struggling  with  some 
real  difficulties,  perhaps  for  a  couple  of  years  longer, 
they  make  the  ignoble  choice  of  saddling  themselves 
on   the   Church   as  incompetent  drivellers    through 


LETTER  XIII.  241 

their  whole  lives!     Others  plead  as  an  apology  for 
shortening  their  C9urse  of  study,  the  urgent  call  for 
ministers; — the  wants  of  the  heathen  world;  the  great 
scarcity  of  gospel  labourers  in  the  domestic  field; — 
and  the  perishing  necessities  of  unevangelized  mil- 
lions; not  recollecting,  as  before  suggested,  that,  even 
in  the  days  of  the  Apostle  Paul^  when  the  scarcity  of 
ministers,  on  the  one  hand,  and   the  darkness   and 
misery  of  the  world,  on  the  other,  were  far  greater 
than  at  present,  the  sending  forth  of  "  novices"  as 
ministers  was  solemnly  interdicted; — and  forgetting, 
too,  that  the  usefulness  of  the  Gospel  labourers,  in 
every  department  of  service,  depends  much  more  on 
their  character  than  on  their  numbers.     A  third  class 
are  hurried  on  prematurely  to  the  pulpit  by  the  hn- 
portunity  of  relatives  and  friend s^  who  cannot  be  made 
to  see  the  importance  of  more  protracted  study;  and 
vyho   feel   a  sort  of   childish   ambition   to   see   their 
youthful  friends   engaging  as   early  in  their  public 
work  as  some  others  of  whom  they  have  read.     And 
not  only  have  youthful  candidates,  in  all  the  fond  in- 
experience of  their  juvenile  feelings,  yielded  to  this 
silly  importunity;  but  venerable  ministers  have  not 
been  ashamed  to  countenance  it,  and  to  prevail  on 
Presbyteries  to   become  parties    in  the  infatuation. 
Others  again,  when  they  had  but  little  more  than  half 
completed  their  proper  course  of  study,  have  been 
prevailed  upon  by  Missionary  Associations,  immedi- 
ately to   break  off,  and  repair,  with   all  the   meag- 
erness  of  their  furniture,  to  the  domestic  or  foreign 
field  of  labour; — forgetting  that  every  day's  deduction 
from  the  amount  of  regular  and  adequate  study,  will 
probably  lead  to  a  corresponding  deduction  from  the 
amount  of  their  usefulness  even  among  the  heathen, 


242  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

as  long  as  they  live^  and  that  if  missionary  boards, 
by  fixing  their  attention  too  exclusively  on  a  single 
point,  really  injure  the  cause  which  they  desire  to 
serve,  this  is  no  reason  why  youthful  candidates  for 
the  sacred  office,  who  ought  to  calculate,  in  the  fear 
of  God,  not  for  the  present  moment  only,  but  for  life, 
should  become  willing  partners  in  the  injury.  And, 
finally,  some  allow  an  indiscreet  matrimonial  engage- 
ment to  embarrass  their  whole  course;  to  interpose 
an  obstacle  of  the  most  intractable  kind  in  the  way  of 
continued  study;  and  even  to  make  an  assumption 
of  the  pastoral  office,  before  their  studies  are  half 
finished,  almost  indispensable. 

From  one  or  another  of  these  causes,  our  candidates 
for  the  ministry,  in  all  our  Theological  Seminaries, 
as  well  as  those  engaged  in  more  private  study,  are 
daily  breaking  off  their  studies  in  the  midst,  before 
they  have  become  well  versed  in  any  department  of 
those  studies,  and  before  they  have  so  much  as  en- 
tered on  some  important  departments.  The  conse- 
quence is,  that  they  go  forth  mere  sciolists  in  Biblical 
and  Theological  knowledge;  in  a  great  measure  un- 
prepared to  defend  any  one  article  of  faith  or  order 
against  the  attacks  of  a  subtle  adversary;  destitute 
of  those  resources  which  will  enable  them,  from  year 
10  year,  to  "feed  the  people  with  knowledge  and  with 
understanding;"  altogether  unqualified  to  be  the 
guides  and  counsellors  of  the  Church  in  cases  ofide- 
licacy,  and  seasons  of  trial;  wholly  unprepared  to  be 
a  powerful  auxiliary  to  the  cause  of  religion  through 
the  medium  of  the  press:  prone  to  be  "  carried  about 
with  every  wind  of  doctrine,"  and  liable  to  become 
the  dupes  of  every  plausible  projector  of  novel  opi- 
nions, and  schemes  for  doing  good,  that  may  obtrude 


LETTER  XIII.  243 

himself  on  a  community.  What  must  the  conse- 
quence be  to  the  Church,  when  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  those  who  are  to  be  her  teachers  and  guides, 
go  forth  to  their  work  thus  unqualified?  Is  it  possi- 
ble that  they  should  be  "  workmen  that  need  not  be 
ashamed,"  prepared  "  rightly  to  divide  the  word  of 
truth?"  Can  we  imagine  that  such  "babes"  in 
Christ,  and  in  scriptural  knowledge,  however  warm 
their  hearts,  will  be  able  to  "  go  in  and  out"  before  a 
Christian  people  with  wisdom,  dignity  and  usefulness; 
to  explain  the  doctrines  of  grace;  to  defend  them 
against  ingenious  adversaries;  to  meet  the  learned 
caviller;  to  counsel  anxious  inquirers,  in  all  the  va- 
riety and  mazes  of  their  difficulties;  and  to  adminis- 
ter safe  and  seasonable  consolation  to  the  perplexed 
and  doubting  Christian?  We  might  as  well  expect 
"  to  gather  grapes  of  thorns,  or  figs  of  thistles."  No, 
it  cannot  be.  And  if  the  evil  of  which  I  speak  con- 
tinues to  prevail,  our  ministry,  instead  of  rising  in  in- 
tellectual and  moral  power  with  the  state  of  society, 
and  the  demands  of  the  age,  will  more  and  more  de- 
preciate, to  the  deplorable  detriment  of  Christ's 
kingdom,  and  to  the  mortification  of  those  who  de- 
sire to  see  the  Church  adorned  with  able,  faithful, 
and  well  furnished  pastors. 

I  am  well  aware  that  insisting  on  this  point,  will  be 
regarded  by  some  as  an  effort  of  "old  school"  preju- 
dice and  formality;  and-that,  while  learning  in  a/ei^ 
will  be  admitted  to  be  important,  the  plan  of  con- 
ducting the  great  mass  of  our  candidates  for  the  mi- 
nistry to  the  pulpit  by  a  very  summary  course,  is  sup- 
posed by  many  to  be  expedient,  and  indeed  required, 
in  the  present  state  of  the  Church  and  the  world.  I 
answer,  however  urgent  may  be  the  demand  for  mi- 


244  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

nisters,  it  is  infatuation  to  take  this  method  of  meet- 
ing it.  It  were  just  as  rational,  when  a  direful  pes- 
tilence was  raging,  to  send  out  among  the  people, 
under  the  name  and  guise  of  physicians,  large  bodies 
of  rash  and  ignorant  young  men,  who  would  be  likely 
to  kill  ten  times  as  many  as  they  cured. 

Do  you  ask  me,  my  Christian  friends,  what  remedy 
can  be  applied  to  this  evil?  I  answer,  there  seems  to 
be  no  hope  from  the  ordinary  application  of  ecclesi- 
astical authority.  The  highest  judicatory  of  our 
Church  has  remonstrated  and  recommended  in  vain. 
The  wisdom  and  firmness  of  a  few  Presbyteries  will 
avail  nothing,  while  others  stand  ready  to  license  and 
ordain  those  whom  their  neighbours  would  refuse. 
The  wisest  and  best  men  in  our  Church  have  entreat- 
ed and  mourned:  but  still  the  evil  has  continued  to 
prevail.  Public  sentiment,  in  relation  to  this  mat- 
ter, must  be  reformed,  or  the  case  is  hopeless.  The 
Churches  can  apply  the  most  effectual  remedy,  by 
frowning  on  such  a  course,  and  refusing  to  counte- 
nance those  who  thus  set  at  defiance  all  Scripture 
and  all  experience.  It  is  as  much  the  interest  as  it  is 
the  duty  of  every  Church  to  do  this.  Were  the 
Churches  faithfully  to  act  thus,  we  should  not  so  often 
witness  the  melancholy  spectacle  of  young  men  who 
were  highly  acceptable  and  popular  when  they  first 
settled  in  a  pastoral  charge,  and  who  continued  so  for 
a  few  weeks,  declining  in  "acceptance  almost  imme- 
diately^ and  before  they  had  well  passed  what  may 
be  called  the  "  honey-moon"  of  the  pastoral  marriage, 
sinking  in  public  estimation,  and,  after  a  speedy  dis- 
•mission,  hanging  in  the  market,  like  tainted  meat, 
without  attraction,  and  without  an  offer.  If  the 
Churches  did  but  understand  their  true  interest  in 


LETTER  XIII.  245 

this  thing,  they  would  as  carefully  guard  against  the 
choice  of  novices  and  sciolists  to  be  their  teachers,  as 
they  would  avoid  young  men  suspected  of  unsound 
opinions.  For,  truly,  if  a  young  man  has  passed 
through  only  a  hurried  and  superficial  course  of 
study,  what  security  can  any  Church  have  that  he 
will  not  completely  "run  out,"  as  to  resources  and 
acceptance,  in  less  than  six  months;  or  become,  im- 
mediately, a  mere  puppet,  to  be  moved  by  some 
neighbour,  of  more  art  and  less  honesty  than  himself? 
One  thing  is  certain,  that  a  man  who  has  himself 
learned  but  little  can  teach  but  little;  and  that  one  of 
the  most  deplorable  sources  of  disappointment  in  a 
stated  ministry,  is  the  mis-direction  and  inadequacy 
of  preparatory  study. 

The  time  prescribed  for  a  "  full  course,"  in  most  of 
our  Theological  Seminaries,  is  three  years.  This 
period  is  not,  indeed,  long  enough,  especially  where 
the  candidate  is  quite  youthful,  say  below  twenty-one 
years  of  age.  But  it  is  probably  quite  as  long  as  the 
present  generation  can  be  prevailed  upon  to  sanction. 
But,  among  the  many  things,  in  relation  to  this  mat- 
ter, to  be  regretted,  one  is,  that  even  of  those  who 
profess  to  continue  their  studies  regularly  through 
this  period,  by  unwisely  soliciting  and  obtaining  li- 
cense at  the  end  of  the  second  year,  their  third  and  last 
year  is  in  a  great  measure  destroyed  as  a  season  of 
regular  study.  This  step  is  taken  sometimes  to  gra- 
tify the  impatience  of  friends,  who  are  often  over- 
anxious to  see  and  hear  in  the  pulpit  those  candidates 
in  whom  they  take  a  peculiar  interest: — and  some- 
times it  is  resorted  to  as  a  means  of  ekeing  out  a 
scanty  support.  In  either  case,  the  effect  seldom  fails 
to  be  unhappy.  If  an  individual,  in  these  circum- 
X  2 


246  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

stances,  be  tolerably  acceptable  as  a  preacher,  he  will 
be  so  much  solicited  to  preach,  and  the  interruptions 
thence  arising  will  be  so  numerous,  as  to  render  all 
regular  application  to  study  thereafter  next  to  impos- 
sible. I  have  scarcely  ever  known  an  instance  of  a 
candidate  who  was  licensed  to  preach  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  third  year  of  his  course,  who  did  not  find, 
whatever  might  have  been  his  hopes  and  promises 
beforehand,  that  the  death  warrant  of  the  studies  of 
that  year  was  irrevocably  sealed. 

In  a  word,  it  may  be  laid  down  as  a  fixed  principle 
of  ecclesiastical  duty  and  policy,  that  the  moment  we 
give  up  our  ancient  practice  of  regular  and  thorough 
training  for  the  sacred  office; — the  moment  we  adopt 
the  habit  of  introducing  to  our  pulpits,  and  clothing 
with  the  sacred  office,  unqualified,  superficial,  empty 
men, — however  fervent;  it  will  be  a  miserable  omen 
of  our  future  prospects  as  a  Church.  The  inconsi- 
derate and  the  narrow  minded  may  rejoice  at  such  a 
prospect,  as  if  it  were  a  return  to  the  simplicity  of 
primitive  times;  but  the  truly  enlightened  and  wise 
will  mourn  over  it,  as  a  departure  from  the  principles 
of  common  sense,  and  practical  wisdom,  which  all 
Scripture  and  all  experience  concur  in  pronouncing 
injurious,  and  inevitably  fatal,  in  the  end,  to  the  best 
interest  of  Zion.  It  is  well  known  that  our  Methodist 
and  Baptist  brethren  were  for  a  considerable  time,  to 
a  great  extent  regardless  of  human  learning,  if  not 
unfriendly  to  it,  in  their  candidates  for  the  holy  mi- 
nistry. But  it  is  equally  well  known  that  both  these 
denominations  of  Christians  have  felt  the  importance, 
for  a  number  of  years  past,  of  directing  increased  at- 
tention to  this  subject;  and  of  providing  colleges  and 
Theological  Seminaries   for  their  regular  training. 


LETTER   XIII.  247 

And  it  will  also  be  remembered,  as  already  hinted 
more  than  once,  in  the  course  of  these  letters — that 
the  "  new-side"  brethren,  in  the  old  dispute  which  long 
ago  agitated  and  divided  our  Church,  when  calm  re- 
flection succeeded  to  the  strong  impulse  of  passion 
under  which  they  had  acted, — became  sensible  that 
>  they  had  not  paid  due  regard  to  preparatory  study 
ybr  the  ministry;  that  they  had  hastily  licensed  and 
Ordained  men,  who  were  not  qualified  for  the  sacred 
office;  and  were  at  great  pains  and  expense  for  esta- 
b  ishing  a  wiser  and  better  plan.  Indeed  it  may  safe- 
ly be  asserted  that  no  denomination  or  party,  ever 
allowed  themselves  to  license,  or  to  send  forth  invest- 
ed with  the  office  of  teaching  and  ruling  in  the 
Church,  rav/,  half-trained,  ignorant,  and  self-sufficient 
men,  however  zealous  they  might  be,  without  even- 
tual mortification  and  disappointment;  without  ulti- 
mately finding  that  they  had  done  more  harm  than 
good  to  the  cause  of  Christ,  and  had  degraded  them- 
selves in  the  eyes  of  all  enlightened  observers. 

Nothing  is  further  from  my  view,  my  Christian 
brethren,  than  to  plead  for  raising  up  as  Gospel  mi- 
nisters a  set  of  learned,  heartless  drones,  who  will 
study  more  to  shine  as  scholars  than  to  "  win  souls 
to  Jesus  Christ."  The  men  whom  I  wish  and  pray 
may  be  trained  for  the  service  of  the  Church,  are 
men  of  devoted  and  fervent  piety;  enlightened  and 
warm  friends  to  revivals  of  religion;  men  qualified 
and  disposed  to  take  an  active  part  in  forwarding  all 
the  laudable  Christian  institutions  of  the  day;  and,  at 
the  same  time,  so  well  instructed  and  solidly  judi- 
cious; so  intimately  acquainted  with  the  Bible,  with 
the  system  of  grace,  with  the  history  of  the  Church, 
and  with  the  human  heart,  as  to  be  prepared  at  once 


248  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

with  enlightened  discrimination  and  zeal,  to  promote 
all  that  is  good,  and  to  discern  and  resist  everything 
of  a  contrary  tendency,  whether  it  appear  in  the  form 
of  an  "  angel  of  light"  or  of  darkness.  Such  is  the 
character  of  the  ministry  indispensably,  I  may  say, 
peculiarly  needed  at  the  present  day,  by  every  church 
which  wishes  to  take  a  large  and  active  part  in  the 
conversion  of  the  world.  And  I  fully  believe  that 
the  day  has  come  when  no  other  ministry  than  such 
as  I  have  described,  will  command  the  respect  of  the 
wise  and  the  good,  or  really  promote  the  interests  of 
"  pure  and  undefiled  religion."  It  is  not  denied  that 
men  of  very  small  knowledge,  and  of  quite  as  little 
prudence, — provided  they  be  truly  pious,  ardent  in 
their  temperament,  and  impressive  in  their  elocu- 
tion, may  excite,  and  perhaps  greatly  excite,  popular 
assemblies,  for  a  short  time;  may  even  become  in- 
strumental in  producing  considerable  awakenings; 
and  be,  for  a  few  weeks  or  months,  borne  on  the 
shoulders  of  the  populace.  But  will  this  last  for  a 
single  year.^  Can  it  be  imagined  that  such  persons 
are  qualified  to  be  stated  pastors?  Can  they  be  ex- 
pected to  instruct,  to  unite,  and  to  build  up  the  peo- 
ple, as  well  as  to  rouse  and  collect  them.^  Is  it  pos- 
sible that  they  should  bring  forth,  from  Sabbath  to 
Sabbath,  what  is  necessary  to  meet  the  necessities  of 
the  various  classes  of  their  hearers;  to  convince  the 
gainsayers,  to  enlighten  the  anxious  and  the  doubt- 
ing, wisely  and  seasonably  to  give  each  one  his  por- 
tion, and  to  feed  and  edify  the  people  of  God?  None 
but  those  who  shut  their  eyes  against  all  reason  and 
all  experience,  can  expect  such  a  result.  Ecclesias- 
tical partisans  may  fondly  imagine  that  they  are  pro- 
moting the  Redeemer's  kingdom  by  rapidly  multi^ 


LETTER  XIII.  249 

plying  mmisters  almost  at  any  rate.  But  it  is  just  as 
certain  that,  if  they  act  upon  this  principle,  they  are 
making  work  for  bitter  repentance,  as  it  is  that  the 
relation  between  cause  and  effect  is  indissoluble. 

The  community  stands  in  no  need  of  any  addition 
to  the  numbers  of  ignorant,  superficial,  incompetent 
ministers  of  the  Gospel.  They  are  multiplied  quite 
fast  enough  by  other  denominations.  Our  system, 
in  its  essential  structure,  cSlls  for  aministry  in  whom 
fervent  piety,  and  ample  intellectual,  literary  and 
theological  furniture  are  united.  But,  besides  the 
character,  of  our  system,  the  period  in  which  we  live 
demands  such  a  ministry,  more  imperatively  than 
any  preceding  period.  The  state  of  society  calls 
more  loudly  every  day,  for  mature  scholars,  able  di- 
vines, and  powerful  writers.  Such  men  have  it  in 
their  power  to  do  far  more  good  than  any  others. 
And  when  our  ecclesiastical  judicatories,  or  our  in- 
dividual churches  forget  or  disregard  this  fact,  they 
are  undoubtedly  trifling  with  the  best  interests  of 
the  Redeemer's  kingdom.  The  following  summary, 
then,  of  the  suggestions  contained  in  this  letter,  I 
could  wish  to  see  inscribed  on  the  walls  of  every 
Theological  Seminary  and  of  every  church; — on 
every  place  of  meeting  of  all  our  ecclesiastical  judi- 
catories;— and  on  the  heart  of  every  professing  Pres- 
byterian. 

1.  Do  not  imagine  that  every  pious  young  man  is 
called  to  be  a  minister.  Many  to  whom  God  has 
given  his  grace,  can  serve  him  better  out  of  the  mi- 
nistry than  in  it. 

2.  Let  those  only  among  our  converted  youth  be 
prompted  and  encouraged  to  seek  the  holy  ministry, 
who,  in  addition  to  undoubted  piety,  have  good  ta- 


250  LETTERS  TO    PRESBYTERIANS. 

lents,  prudence,  and  those  physical  capabilities  which 
qualify  them  in  some  good  degree  to  be  public  in- 
structers. 

3.  Let  no  young  man  be,  on  any  account,  taken  up 
by  any  Presbytery,  or  Education  Society,  in  connex- 
ion with  the  Presbyterian  Church,  who  has  made  up^ 
and  publicly  expresses  an  opinion  hostile  to  our  public 
formularies. 

4.  Let  every  candidate*  for  the  ministry,  to  whom 
it  is  practicable,  be  persuaded  to  go  through  a  com- 
plete course  of  academical  and  collegial  study,  pre- 
paratory to  the  study  of  theology.  Upon  the  charac- 
ter of  this  literary  and  scientific  foundation,  more  of 
the  solidity  and  success  of  his  after  course  depends, 
than  he  can  now  possibly  conceive.  He  who  slights 
this  part  of  his  course  cheats  himself,  and  cheats  the 
Church  of  God. 

5.  Let  no  youth  who  has  devoted  himself  to  the 
ministry,  diminish  aught  from  a  full  and  regular 
course  of  three  years'  theological  study.  Let  the  in- 
fatuated habit  of  lopping  off  a  portion,  and  some- 
times a  large  portion  of  this  time,  be  frowned  upon, 
prohibited,  and  as  far  as  possible,  banished  from  the 
Church. 

6.  Let  there  be  one  combined  and  determined  re- 
solution, on  the  part  of  all  our  judicatories,  and  all 
our  members,  to  put  down  the  system  of  premature 
licensures  and  ordinations.  They  are  working  so 
much  harm  to  the  Church  that  they  ought  no  longer 
to  be  sustained.  If  young  men  cannot  be  prevailed 
upon  in  this  matter  by  considerations  addressed  to 
their  understandings  and  their  hearts,  let  the  judica- 
tories of  the  Church  save  them  from  their  own  infa- 
tuation by  authority;  and  if  this  cannot  be  exercised, 


LETTER  XIII.  251 

let  the  individual  churches  manifest  to  such  young 
men  their  disapprobation,  by  withholding  their  coun- 
tenance, and  resolving  that  they  will  not  have  "babes 
to  teach  and  rule  over  them." 

Princeton^  Jipril,  1833. 


252  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 


LETTER  XIY. 

Religious  Education  of  the  Children  of  the  Church. 

Christian  Brethren, 

The  topics  on  \?hich  I  have  taken  the  liberty  to 
address  you,  in  the  preceding  letters,  are  such  as  ap- 
pear to  me  essential  to  involve  the  peace  and  even 
the  continued  union  of  our  Church.  On  these  I  have 
enlarged  more,  perhaps,  than  to  some  appeared  ne- 
cessary. My  only  apology  is,  that  my  intense  solici- 
tude for  your  welfare,  and  my  estimate  of  the  impor- 
tance of  the  several  topics,  insensibly  led  me  on  to  an 
extent  of  discussion  not  originally  intended. 

There  are  several  other  subjects,  not  precisely  of 
the  same  class,  yet  scarcely  less  important,  and  even 
vital  iu  their  character,  on  which  it  is  my  wish  to 
make  a  few  remarks,  before  I  bring  to  a  close  this 
"  labour  of  love."  One  of  the  most  interesting  of 
these  subjects  is  that  which  relates  to  fidelity  in  the 

CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  OF  YOUR  CHILDREN.       Among  all 

the  duties  incumbent  on  the  professed  followers  of 
Christ,  I  scarcely  know  of  any  one  more  neglected 
than  this;  and  none,  the  neglect  of  which  tends  more 
directly  and  vitally  to  injure  both  the  neglected  indivi- 
duals, and  the  church  to  which  they  belong.  It  is  too 
plain  to  be  made  the  subject  of  argument  that  if  the 
Church,  as  such,  is  bound  to  maintain  in^their  purity 
the  truth  and  order  of  the  Gospel;  if  she  is  bound  to 
defend  the  genuine  doctrines  and  discipline  of  the 
house  of  God  against  all  gainsayers,  and  to  transmit 
them  uncorrupted  to  posterity; — she  is,   of  course, 


LETTER  XIV.  253 

bound  carefully  to  impart  a  knowledge  of  these  things 
to  her  children,  that  they  may  transmit  them  to 
theirs,  and  so  on  to  the  latest  generation.  "  These 
things,"  said  Jehovah  of  old,  lo  his  covenant  people, 
"  These  things  which  I  command  thee  this  day,  shall 
be  in  thine  heart;  and  thou  shalt  teach  them  dili- 
gently unto  thy  children,  and  shall  talk  of  them  when 
thou  sittest  in  thine  house,  and  when  thou  walkest  by 
the  way,  and  when  thou  liest  down,  and  when  thou 
risest  up."  We,  as  Presbyterians,  profess  to  believe 
that  the  system  of  doctrine  exhibited  in  our  Confession 
of  Faith  is  the  system  of  doctrine  taught  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures;  and  that  the  form  of  government  and  dis- 
cipline set  forth  in  our  ecclesiastical  constitution,  is 
that  which  the  Bible  warrants.  Now,  if  we  really  be- 
lieve this;  and  if  one  grand  purpose  for  which  the 
Church  was  instituted  is  that  she  may  preserve  and 
transmit  pure  and  entire  all  such  religious  truth,  wor- 
ship and  ordinances  as  Christ  hath  revealed  in  his 
word,  ought  she  not,  conscientiously,  to  train  up  all  the 
children  and  young  people  wiihin  her  bosom,  not 
only  in  general  in  the  "  nurture  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord,"  but  also  in  the  knowledge  of  those  peculiar 
views  of  truth  and  order  which  she  regards  as  scrip- 
tural and  important?  When  we  neglect  this,  we  not 
only  sin  against  the  best  interest  of  our  children,  but 
we  pursue  a  course  which  is  adapted  to  weaken  and 
eventually  to  scatter  and  destroy  the  Church  herself; 
or,  at  any  rate,  to  take  away  all  her  intelligence,  zeal 
and  strength  as  a  witness  for  Christ.  Children  are  the 
hope  of  the  Church  as  well  as  of  the  state.  Of  course, 
if  they  are  not  prepared  to  come  in,  and  take  the  places 
of  their  parents,  when  they  cease  from  their  labours, 
by  whom  shall  we  expect  the  purity  and  activity  of 
the  body  of  Christ  to  be  sustained! 

y 


254  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

It  is  deeply  to  be  regretted  that  this  negligence 
has  so  far  obtained  in  many  of  the  churches  of  our 
denomination  in  the  United  States.  In  this  day  of 
Christian  zeal  and  effort,  when  the  spirit  of  God  is 
poured  out  in  such  copious  measures  upon  young  as 
well  as  old,  and  when  the  motives  to  fidelity  in  instruct- 
ing our  children  and  youth  are  becoming  every  day 
more  obvious  and  powerful^  it  would  seem  as  if  in 
many  of  our  churches,  the  faithful  training  of  young 
people  in  the  knowledge  of  scriptural  doctrine,  were 
more  and  more  declining.  The  excellent  compends  of 
Gospel  doctrine,  sanctioned  and  carefully  taught  by 
our  fathers,  are  in  a  great  measure  neglected,  as  there 
is  reason  to  fear,  by  many  pastors  and  church  sessions. 
r'The  general  principles  of  religion  only,  which  are 
common  to  all  Protestant  denominations,  are  impart- 
ed to  our  youth,  and  that  in  a  superficial  manner,  and 
the  whole  system  of  instruction  so  conducted  as  to 
leave  them  destitute  of  any  distinguishing  views  of 
doctrine  or  orders  and  to  train  them  up  in  that  igno- 
rance of  discriminating  gospel  truth,  which  will  pre- 
pare them  to  be  "  carried  about  by  every  wind  of 
doctrine,"  or  perhaps,  in  the  end,  to  be  drawn  away 
from  all  the  fundamental  principles  of  our  holy  reli- 
gion, and  allured,  it  may  be,  into  open  infidelity. 

I  am  aware  that  many  serious  people  profess  to  be 
of  the  opinion,  that  it  is  improper  to  preoccupy  the 
minds  of  children  with  any  particular  mode  of  reli- 
gious belief.  They  allege  that  they  ought  to  be 
taught  to  believe  in  the  Christian  religion:  to  read 
the  Bible; — and  to  reverence  those  general  doctrines 
of  the  Gospel  in  which  all  Christians  agree;  but  that 
instilling  into  their  minds  the  peculiarities  of  any  one 
denomination,  is  adapted  to  fill  them  with  prejudices. 


LETTER  XIV.  255 

and  to  interfere  with  that  impartial  examination  of 
the  relative  claims  of  all  denominations,  which  it  will 
be  incumbent  upon  them  to  make  when  they  reach 
mature  age,  and  begin  to  take  their  stand  in  the 
Church  of  God.  However  specious  this  plea  may- 
appear  in  the  view  of  some,  it  will  by  no  means  stand 
the  test  either  of  common  sense  or  of  scriptural  exa- 
mination. Will  any  contend  that  it  is  improper  to 
pre-occupy  the  minds  of  our  children  with  any  kind 
of  truth?  Is  it  improper  to  instil  into  their  minds, 
with  the  earliest  dawn  of  reason,  and  anterior  to  all 
experience,  that  fire  will  burn  themj  that  if  they  fall 
into  deep  water,  they  will  be  drowned^  that  lying  is 
infamous;  and  that  if  they  commit  theft  or  murder, 
they  will  be  punished?  Would  it  not  be  highly  de- 
sirable that  the  deepest  impression  of  these  truths 
and  of  a  hundred  others  which  we  cannot  enumerate, 
should  be  made  upon  their  minds  as  early  as  possi- 
ble? Could  any  wise  parent  desire  that  his  child 
should  be  kept  in  ignorance  of  these  things,  under  the 
notion  that  he  did  not  wish  him  to  be  filled  with 
prejudices — until  he  acquired  the  knowledge  of  them 
by  painful  and  perilous  experience?  Surely  not. 
Would  he  not  rather  say,  that  the  more  completely 
he  could  fill  his  youthful  mind  with  the  knowledge  of 
errors  and  dangers,  and  with  a  desire  to  avoid  them, 
the  better?  Precisely  so  is  it  with  regard  to  all  moral 
and  religious  errors.  If  our  children  were  always  in- 
clined, by  nature,  to  embrace  and  obey  the  truth,  our 
constant  efforts  to  explain  and  recommend  it,  would 
be  less  important.  But  the  fact  is  just  the  reverse. 
Their  invariable  tendency,  left  to  themselves,  is  to 
error  rather  than  truth.  Common  sense,  then,  tells 
us  that  the  more  completely  we  can  put  them  on  their 


256  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

guard  against  every  species  of  mistake  and  danger, 
and  the  more  entirely  we  can  fill  their  minds  with 
truth,  that  is,  with  just  apprehensions  of  the  God  who 
made  them,  of  their  own  character,  and  of  the  way  of 
duty  and  happiness,  the  more  we  shall  be  likely  to 
promote  their  safety  and  enjoyment.  If  this  were  in 
all  cases  successfully  done,  how  many  false  steps; 
how  many  aching  hearts;  how  many  disgraceful 
falls,  on  the  part  of  children  and  youth,  might  be 
prevented?  Accordingly  the  Scriptures,  with  pecu- 
liar solemnity  and  force,  enjoin  upon  us  this  duty. 
The  inspired  command  is,  "Train  up  a  child  in  the 
way  that  he  should  go,  and  when  he  is  old,  he  will 
not  depart  from  it."  Surely  even  prejudices  in  fa- 
vour of  truth  and  righteousness  will  be  so  far  from 
injuring  our  children,  that  if  we  can  instil  them  into 
their  minds  beforehand,  and  thus  forestal  the  allure- 
ments of  error,  \ye  shall  confer  upon  them  a  rich  and 
lasting  benefit.  Nay,  to  omit  this,  is  as  cruel  as  it  is 
unwise. 

Not  only  SLve  parents,  then,  bound,  as  far  as  possible, 
to  guard  their  children  against  error,  and  to  fill  their 
minds  with  what  they  deem  just  sentiments,  on  all 
important  subjects,  and  especially  on  subjects  of  the 
most  vital  importance,  as  early  as  they  are  capable  of 
receiving  them; — but  the  Church  also,  as  such,  is 
bound  to  see  that  this  momentous  trust  is  faithfully 
discharged,  by  her  appropriate  officers, — by  instruct- 
ing and  stimulating  parents  to  perform  their  duty; 
by  diligently  conducting  Bible-classes ;  by  causing  the 
Catechisms  of  the  Church  to  be  carefully  committed 
to  memory,  and  statedly  recited  by  all  the  children 
under  her  supervision;  by  making  the  Sabbath-school 
instruction  as  rich  and  faithful  as  possible;  and,  in 


LETTER  XIV.  257 

short,  by  the  diligent  use  of  all  suitable  means,  to 
train  up  children  and  youth  in  an  enlightened  attach- 
ment to  those  principles  of  doctrine  and  order  which 
the  Church,  their  moral  mother,  believes  to  be  taught 
and  enjoined  in  the  word  of  God.  It  is  really  dis- 
tressing to  observe  in  how  many  of  our  churches  this 
great  duty  is  almost  entirely  neglected.  The  noble 
Catechisms,  drsiwn  up,  I  had  almost  said,  by  the  col- 
lected wisdom  and  piety  of  the  seventeenth  century; 
which  our  fathers  publicly  adopted,  and  placed  among 
our  Formularies,  as  manuals  for  the  instruction  of 
youtli,  have  in  a  great  measure  passed  out  of  view  in 
hundreds  of  congregations  nominally  Presbyterian. 
Indeed  the  false  liberality  of  the  present  day  has 
taken  so  strong  a  hold  of  many  serious  minds,  in  our 
communion,  that  they  turn  away,  with  fixed  purpose, 
from  those  doctrinal  manuals  which  the  Church  has 
sanctioned,  as  contracted  and  obsolete;  and  think  it 
right,  upon  principle,  to  put  nothing  into  the  hands 
of  their  children  but  those  general  and  superficial 
compends  which  are  equally  adapted  to  all  denomi- 
nations, and  which,  of  course,  will  inculcate  none  of 
the  peculiarities  of  their  own.  The  consequence  is, 
that  these  children  grow  up  without  any  intelligent 
acquaintance  with  the  distinguishing  tenets  of  the 
Church  of  their  fathers,  and  of  course  without  any 
motive  or  disposition  to  adhere  to  them.  Hence, 
when  they  come  to  adult  years,  they  are  just  as  apt 
to  go  off  to  other  societies,  and  sometimes  to  those 
of  the  most  corrupt  character,  as  to  remain  Presby- 
terians. If  we  wish  our  children  to  become  Pela- 
gians, Universalists,  or  Socinians,  we  cannot  take  a 
course  more  directly  adapted  to  attain  the  object, 
than  to  adopt  the  plan  just  mentioned;  to  instruct 
Y  2 


258  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

them  in  some  general  principles  only  of  our  common 
Christianity,  leaving  them  under  all  the  disadvan- 
tages of  inexperience,  and  all  the  ardour  of  youthful 
appetite  and  passion;  to  spell  out  the  distinguishing 
system  of  doctrine  and  order  with  which  they  ought 
to  connect  themselves.  In  this  situation,  they  will 
not  only  be  liable  to  go  astray,  but  the  probability  is 
that  they  will  make  a  wrong  choice,  perhaps  a  fatally 
wrong  one.  If  we  could  unfold  the  history  of  many 
Presbyterian  families,  we  should,  no  doubt,  find  the 
entire  abandonment  of  the  second  generation  to  moral 
and  religious  error,  and  their  deplorable  shipwreck 
of  the  advantages  transmitted  to  them  by  their  pa- 
rents, manifestly  attributable  to  the  want  of  enlight- 
ened fidelity  on  the  part  of  those  parents,  in  regard  to 
religious  instruction.  If  intelligent  Christians  will 
not  laboriously  endeavour  to  pre-occupy  the  minds 
of  their  children  with  discriminating  truth,  it  will 
be  found  that,  long  before  they  arrive  at  the  age  in 
which  they  are  capable  of  making  an  enlightened  in- 
quiry, and  an  impartial  choice  of  a  religious  system 
for  themselves,  they  will  be  apt  to  have  imbibed  pre- 
judices, and  to  have  formed  connexions  from  which, 
you  might  just  as  well  hope  to  bend  the  mature  oak 
of  the  forest,  as  to  think  of  turning  them.  The  idea 
of  leaving  our  children  to  choose  their  religion  when 
they  come  to  mature  age,  is  of  all  delusions  one  of 
the  most  unreasonable  and  fatal.  Every  child  of 
apostate  Mam,^  I  repeat,  is  by  nature  a  heretic^  and  if 
left  to  himself,  will  probably  take  some  heretical 
course;  and  long  before  the  age  of  intelligent  inquiry 
arrives,  may  be  irrecoverably  sold,  by  his  depraved 
propensities,  to  fatal  error. 

I  would  say,  then,  to  every  Presbyterian  parent — 


LETTER    XIV.  259 

"  If  you  desire  your  children  to  be  happy,  here  and 
hereafter,  or  the  Church  to  which  you  belong  to  pros- 
per, faithfully  train  them  up,  from  their  mother's 
lap,  in  that  system  of  Gospel  truth  and  order  which 
you  verily  believe  to  be  taught  in  the  word  of  God. 
But  be  not  contented  with  mere  doctrinal  instruction. 
Take  unwearied  pains  to  instil  into  their  minds  the 
sentiments  of  practical  piety.  Pray  with  them,  and 
for  them,  and  teach  them  to  pray!  Not  only  warn, 
but  restrain  them  from  plunging  into  those  unhal- 
lowed amusements  which  the  children  of  this  world 
love,  but  which  are  deeply  hostile  to  all  real  religion. 
Be  not  afraid  of  the  charge  of  *  sectarianism.'  If 
by  'sectarianism'  be  meant  a  strict  adherence  to 
Scriptural  Christianity,  I  hope  you  will  not  shrink 
from  the  charge,  but  rather  glory  in  being  your- 
selves, and  in  training  up  your  children  to  be  such 
'sectarians'  as  the  apostles  and  primitive  Christians 
were."  And  to  every  Presbyterian  pastor  and  elder 
I  would  say — "  As  ever  you  wish  the  Church  com- 
mitted to  your  charge  to  grow  in  solid  enlightened 
piety,  and  to  be  built  up  under  your  watchful  labours, 
bestow  unwearied  attention  on  the  children  of  the 
Church.  If  you  consider  yourselves  as  vi'itnesses  for 
Christ,  leave  no  effort  unapplied  to  train  up  all  the 
youth  committed  to  your  care  to  be  equally  intelli- 
gent and  faithful  witnesses.  For  this  purpose  bring 
them  all  as  early  and  as  thoroughly  as  possible  under 
the  inspection  and  instruction  of  the  Church.  Put 
the  Bible  into  their  hands,  and  teach  them  to  study 
and  revere  it  as  the  word  of  God,  the  only  infallible 
rule  of  faith  and  practice.  Put  into  their  hands  also 
those  Catechisms^  and  other  digested  summaries  of 
Bible  truth,  which  the  Church  has  sanctioned  as  ma- 


260  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

nuals  of  elementary  Christian  knowledge,  that  their 
memories  may  be  stored  with  gospel  doctrine  in  such 
a  plain  and  simple  form  as  will  be  likely  never  to  be 
forgotten.  Endeavour  to  make  them  familiar  with 
some  of  the  soundest  and  best  treatises  on  doctrinal 
and  practical  religion,  with  which  such  men  as  Fla- 
\  velj  Baxter,  Boston,  Doddridge,  Edwards  and  Bellamy 
have  favoured  the  Church.  Let  the  instructions  of 
the  Sabbath-school,  too,  be  so  conducted  under  your 
parental  eye,  as  to  minister  to  the  same  end.  Never 
allow  that  institution,  so  transcendently  important  to 
the  rising  generation,  to  pass  from  your  control  into 
irresponsible  and  capricious  hands.  But  ever  keep 
it  under  the  eye  and  the  guidance  of  the  pastor  and 
Church  session,  and  see  that  all  its  instructions  be 
sound  and  edifying.  In  short,  let  your  aim  be  to 
train  up  the  children  committed  to  your  care,  not  as 
bigots,  but  as  enlightened  Presbyterians.  Teach  them 
to  exercise  the  most  cordial  charity  toward  all  of 
every  name  who  bear  the  image  of  Christ;  but  pecu- 
liarly to  venerate  and  love  the  Church  in  which  they 
were  born  and  baptized,  and  whose  interest  they  are 
bound  assiduously  to  promote.  There  is  no  part  of 
your  official  duty  to  the  Church  of  God  more  impor- 
tant, or  more  likely  to  produce  a  rich  reward  of  the 
most  precious  fruit,  than  that  which  is  here  recom- 
mended. Other  denominations  around  us  are  taking 
unwearied  pains  to  produce  an  enlightened  attach- 
ment on  the  part  of  their  children  to  the  religious 
connexions  of  their  parents;  and  if  we  neglect  to  imi- 
tate their  example,  while  they  are  built  up,  we  shall 
be  'scattered  and  peeled,*  and  our  beloved  children 
become  the  prey  of  every  vain  delusion." 

But  there  is  one  source  of  danger,  my  Christian 


LETTER  XIV.  261 

friends,  to  the  children  of  some  of  you,  concerning 
which  I  feel  constrained  to  put  you  on  your  guard 
with  more  than  common  solemnity.  I  refer  to  that 
whole  system  of  artful,  proselyting  allurement  which 
is  presented  by  the  adherents  to  the  Church  of 
Rome,  and  which,  in  many  parts  of  your  bounds,  must 
be  considered  as  a  source  of  real  and  formidable  dan- 
ger to  inexperienced  youth.  Many  good  Presbyte- 
rians imagine  that  all  alarm  on  this  score,  is  in  a 
great  measure  groundless,  if  not  ridiculous.  They 
suppose  that  the  Popish  controversy,  however  impor- 
tant in  former  times,  or  in  other  countries,  has  ceased 
to  be  worthy  of  particular  attention  on  the  part  of 
American  Christians.  They  believe  that  the  system 
of  superstition  and  of  spiritual  tyranny  built  up  by 
the  Church  of  Rome  is  so  manifestly  unscriptural,  so 
unreasonable,  so  essentially  subversive  of  all  the 
rights  of  conscience,  and  of  private  judgment,  and  so 
utterly  at  war  with  all  the  interests  of  good  morals, 
that  no  Protestant  youth  of  the  least  intelligence  can 
be  in  danger  of  becoming  a  convert  to  such  a  system. 
But  the  truth  is,  that  although  the  real  character  of 
the  system  is  just  as  unscriptural,  unreasonable,  ty- 
rannical and  pestiferous  as  has  been  mentioned;-— it 
has  attractions  to  which  the  young,  the  inexperienced, 
and  the  dissolute  are  peculiarly  apt  to  fall  a  prey.  It 
may  be  said,  without  impropriety,  that  the  religion 
of  the  papacy  is  the  religion  of  human  nature.  As 
Mr.  Toplady^  a  pious  clergyman  of  the  Church  of 
England,  was  accustomed  to  say,  that  "  every  man  is 
born  an  Arminian;"  so  it  has  also  been  said  with 
equal  truth,  that  "every  man  is  born  a  Papist.** 
That  is,  every  man  is  born  with  such  principles  and 
tendencies  as,  left  to  themselves,  will  naturally  con- 


262  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

duct  him  to  the  substance  of  this  system,  as  the  foun- 
dation of  his  hope,  and  the  guide  of  his  life.  Nothing 
is  more  certain  than  that  the  humbling,  holy,  self-de- 
nying plan  of  salvation  by  Christ  as  laid  down  in  the 
Gospel,  is,  of  all  others  the  most  distasteful  to  the  na- 
tural feelings  of  the  human  heart.  Pride,  which  was 
"  the  condemnation  and  snare  of  the  devil,"  is  equally 
"  the  condemnation  and  snare"  of  man.  Guilty  and 
polluted  as  sinful  man  is,  he  has  an  innate  propensity 
to  trust  in  himself,  or  in  something  done,  or  intended 
to  be  done,  by  himself,  to  avert  the  displeasure,  and 
merit  the  favour  of  heaven.  The  hope  of  being  in 
some  way,  his  own  saviour,  is  the  last  which  the  rebel 
abandons.  He  is  willing  to  undergo  the  heaviest 
drudgery  of  riteis  and  ceremonies^  to  submit  to  the 
severest  penances^  to  make  long  journeys^  to  pay 
large  sums  of  money;  in  short,  to  lacerate  his  body, 
and  tax  his  purse,  as  far  as  he  can  bear,  for  a  season, 
if  by  these  he  can  enjoy  the  prospect  of  gaining  the 
heavenly  paradise.  Any,  or  all  these,  he  is  willing  to 
give  for  such  a  hope;  but  his  heart  he  cannot,  will  not 
give. 

Now  to  relieve  this  impenitent  unyielding  mind, — 
which  is  the  mind  of  all  men  by  nature — the  system 
of  Romanism  comes  in  with  the  most  plausible  and 
fascinating  allurements.  It  meets  him  with  a  system 
of  most  ingenious  expedients  for  removing  every  dif- 
ficulty, and  satisfying  every  doubt,  without  the  sacri- 
fice of  a  single  lust.  It  persuades  him  that  if  hebe 
in  regular  communion  with  the  Church  of  JRome,  he 
is,  of  course,  in  real  covenant  and  communion  with 
Christ: — that  there  is  no  need  of  any  radical  change 
of  heart,  provided  he  will  submit  to  the  dictation  and 
the  discipline  of  the  constituted  authorities  of  that 


LETTER  XIV.  263 

church: — that  by  the  sacrament  of  baptism  a  priest 
can  regenerate  him,  and  that  no  other  change  than 
that  which  baptism  includes,  need  be  sought  or  ex- 
pected:— that  by  this  baptism,  when  regularly  admi- 
nistered, all  his  sins  are  taken  away  and  he  reconciled 
to  God: — that  by  a  regular  attendance  on  the  sacra- 
ment o{ penance^  all  his  sins,  committed  from  time  to 
time,  after  baptism,  may  be  certainly  forgiven: — and 
that  by  a  regular  confession  and  absolution  during 
life,  and  the  reception  of  extreme  unction^  when  he 
comes  to  die,  he  may  be  assured  of  everlasting  hap- 
piness:— or  that,  at  the  worst,  he  will  only  be  detain- 
ed some  time  m  purgatory, — which  however,  will  be 
made  very  short  and  light,  if  he  bequeath  a  handsome 
sum  of  money  to  the  church,  or  if  his  surviving 
friends  shall  pay  liberally  for  the  prayers  that  may  be 
said,  and  the  masses  performed  for  the  rest  of  his 
soul.  In  short,  according  to  this  delusive  system,  a 
man  might  live  and  die  without  any  real  holiness, 
either  of  heart  or  of  life,  and  yet,  in  spite  of  all  that 
the  Scriptures  have  so  solemnly  pronounced  to  the 
contrary,  may  be  certain  of  seeing  the  Lord  in  peace. 
He  need  not  trouble  himself  to  read  the  Scriptures. 
The  church  reads,  judges,  and  engages  for  him.  The 
church  has  a  stock  of  merit  to  dispose  of,  which,  upon 
being  properly  paid  for ^  she  can  set  down  to  his  ac- 
count, and  make  available  to  his  acceptance.  So  that, 
however  multiplied  and  enormous  his  sins,  and  how- 
ever obstinately  and  impenitently  persisted  in,  to  the 
last  hour  of  his  life^ — still  if  he  reverently  submit  to 
all  the  rites  of  the  church,  he  is  certain  of  salvation. 
— All  this,  provided  he  be  sincere  in  his  penances^ 
and  we  all  know  what  Papal  sincerity  means.  If  any 
should  be  at  a  loss  on  that  point,  let  them  read  the 


264  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS, 

account  which  the  learned  and  venerable  Dr.  Mosheim 
gives  of  the  Jesuit  doctrine  of  philosophical  sin  in  his 
history  of  the  seventeenth  century.  In  support  of 
these  statements,  testimony  of  the  most  unequivocal 
kind  might  be  produced.  I  am  aware,  indeed,  that 
several  of  them  have  been  either  denied,  or  ingeni- 
ously varnished  over  by  artful  apologists  for  these 
unhallowed  claims: — but  I  am  very  sure  that  when 
the  'whole  system,  taken  together,  is  compared  with 
its  most  authentic  vouchers,  my  representation  will 
be  completely  borne  out  in  every  particular.  At  any 
rate,  it  is  certain  that  the  system  has  been  and  is  so 
represented  by  a  multitude  of  its  actual  ecclesiastical 
administrators,  and  so  understood  by  the  great  mass 
of  its  devoted  adherents. 

Now,  I  ask,  is  it  any  wonder  that  multitudes,  and 
especially  of  the  young,  the  sanguine,  and  the  inex- 
perienced, are  captivated  with  this  system,  and  fly  to 
it  as  a  refuge  from  every  doubt  and  fear?  Is  it  any 
wonder  that  such  a  plausible  and  insinuating  form  of 
religion,  adapted  to  conciliate  the  strongest  propen- 
sities of  our  nature,  and,  at  the  same  time,  embodied 
in  a  gaudy,  dazzling  ritual — should  be  found  to  at- 
tract and  beguile  those  who  have  not  been  faithfully 
put  on  their  guard  against  its  delusions.^  In  truth, 
it  would  rather  be  wonderful  if  it  were  not  so.  And 
those  parents  who  are  not  aware  of  the  danger  to 
which  youth  are  peculiarly  exposed,  when  brought 
in  contact  with  this  flattering,  delusive  plan  of  ac- 
ceptance with  God,  are  but  poorly  qualified  to  be 
their  counsellors  and  guides  in  spiritual  things. 

These  remarks,  my  Christian  brethren,  are  some- 
thing more  than  mere  theory.  It  is  well  known  to 
intelligent  observers  of  passing  scenes,  that  our  Ro- 


LEITER  XIV.  265 

man  Catholic  neighbours,  knowing  where  their 
strength  lies,  and  deeply  acquainted  with  human  na- 
ture, are  labouring,  with  unwearied  diligence,  to  ob- 
tain the  education  of  as  large  a  portion  of  our  youth,  as 
possible.  They  multiply  seminaries  beyond  the  wants 
of  their  own  population.  They  take  the  utmost  pains 
to  furnish  them  with  popular,  attractive  teachers;  to 
puff  them  liberally  in  newspaper  advertisements;  and 
to  invite  all  denominations  of  Christians  to  come  in 
and  partake  of  their  advantages.  They  promise  to 
do  more  for  their  pupils,  and  upon  far  cheaper  terms, 
than  any  of  their  neighbours.  And  they  deceive  the 
simple  by  the  most  solemn  assurances,  that  no  at- 
tempt to  interfere  with  the  religious  opinions  of  their 
pupils  will  in  any  case  be  allowed.  On  the  faith  of 
such  offers  and  assurances,  Protestants,  in  large  num- 
bers, have  been  induced  to  send  their  children  to 
these  Popish  institutions;  and  to  subscribe,  in  some 
cases  largely,  toward  their  support,  under  the  im- 
pression that  they  Avere  thereby  promoting  a  plan  by 
no  means  sectarian,  but  perfectly  liberal  and  benevo- 
lent in  its  whole  design.  It  is  against  this  deception 
that  I  wish  to  put  Presbyterians  on  their  guard.  It 
may  be  safely  asserted  that  pledges  of  total  non-inter- 
ference with  the  religious  principles  and  connexions 
of  children  committed  for  education  to  the  care  of 
Papists,  however  absolute  and  solemn,  are  seldom, 
nay,  strictly  speaking,  almost  never  redeemed.  Of 
the  truth  of  this  assertion,  it  has  fallen  to  my  lot  not 
only  to  hear,  but  to  know,  of  the  most  flagrant  and 
distressing  examples.  Indeed  it  is  due  to  candour, 
and  to  the  veracity  of  those  who  make  such  pledges, 
to  say,  that  it  is  almost  impossible  they  should  be 
really  and  faithfully  redeemed.     The  spirit  of  the 


266  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

Papacy  is  a  spirit  of  proselytism  to  the  very  core. 
The  whole  tendency  of  its  rites  is  to  dazzle  and  al- 
lure. It  cannot  be  expected,  or  even  requested,  of 
the  conductors  of  such  seminaries  as  I  have  alluded 
to,  that  they  should  hide  from  the  eyes  of  their  pu- 
pils the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  their  own  worship. 
Yet  it  is  almost  impossible  that  those  rites  should  be 
even  witnessed  by  youthful  minds,  from  day  to  day, 
for  a  considerable  time  together,  without  mischief. 
The  instructers,  indeed,  may  so  far  keep  their  pro- 
mise, as  never  to  say  a  word  to  their  pupils,  which  if 
heard,  even  by  their  parents  themselves,  would  be 
construed  into  a  direct  violation  of  their  engagement. 
But  they  can,  systematically,  pursue  a  course  of  treat- 
ment peculiarly  affectionate  and  attractive  toward 
those  whom  they  wish  to  win.  They  can  flatter,  ca- 
jole, and  ensnare  them  in  ten  thousand  nameless  and 
covert  ways.  They  can  manage  so  as  to  present 
some  of  their  most  peculiar  rites  and  practices  under 
very  alluring  aspects.  They  can  contrive  to  give 
hints  and  inuendoes,  and  to  make  impressions  in  fa- 
vour of  what  they  wish  to  recommend,  not  only  with- 
out words,  but,  perhaps,  more  powerfully  without 
than  with  them.  Of  these  unceasing  artifices,  pious, 
simple-hearted  Protestants  are  not  sufficiently  aware^ 
but  Jesuits,  and  those  who  have  imbibed  Jesuitical 
maxims  and  principles,  which,  without  injustice,  may 
be  said  essentially  to  belong  to  the  general  system  of 
Romanism, — understand  them  perfectly. 

It  is  perfect  infatuation,  then,  for  Protestants,  in 
any  case,  to  expose  their  children  to  such  a  snare. 
For,  on  the  one  hand,  I  know  of  no  Popish  seminary 
in  the  United  States  which  affords  any  advantage  not 
to  be  obtained  in  an  equal  degree  in  Protestant  insti- 


LETTER   XIV.  -67 

tutions;  and,  on  the  other,  I  have  seen,  in  so  many 
instances,  the  most  irreparable  mischief  done  to  the 
religious  character  of  youth  by  committing  their  li- 
terary training  to  the  hands  of  Roman  Catholics,  that 
I  would  lift  up  my  voice,  if  it  were  possible,  in  every 
part  of  the  United  States,  and  warn  all  Protestants, 
and  especially  all  Presbyterians,  if  they  have  the  least 
regard  to  the  everlasting  well-being  of  their  children, 
not  to  expose  their  tender  years,  and  their  forming 
minds,  to  an  influence  so  likely  to  be  followed  by  fatal 
injury.  It  is,  no  doubt,  the  duty  of  Christian  parents 
to  place  their  children  in  situations  as  favourable  as 
possible  to  the  development  and  culture  of  their  in- 
tellectual powers.  But  they  are  still  more  solemnly 
bound  to  provide  for  the  faithful  and  sound  culture 
of  their  moral  and  religious  principles,  and  to  guard 
them  with  the  utmost  vigilance  against  those  daz- 
zling deceptions  which  cannot  fail  of  putting  the  soul 
to  hazard.  If  ever  there  was  an  instance  of  false  and 
ruinous  "liberality,"  it  is  that  which  will  not  believe 
the  dangersof  Popish  instruction;  which  pronounces 
all  opposition  to  it,  and  warning  against  it,  "bigotry" 
and  "  persecution;"  and  which  is  ready  to  subject 
youth  to  the  most  formidable  snare,  rather  than  fore- 
go the  tinsel  advantages,  which  might  be  quite  as 
well  attained  from  other  sources,  without  any  coun- 
tervailing peril.  If  you  wish  your  children  to  be  al- 
lured into  the  belief  of  "another  Gospel"  from  that 
on  which  you  profess  to  rest  your  own  hopes;  if  you 
wish  them  to  be  betrayed  into  an  abandonment  of  the 
right  of  private  judgment,  and  a  submission  to  the 
most  degrading  spiritual  tyranny  that  ever  held  in 
chains  the  consciences  of  men,  then  send  them  for 
their  education  to  Popish  Seminaries. 


268  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

Let  none  imagine  that  the  system  of  Popery  is 
either  less  corrupt,  or  less  dangerous  than  it  once 
was.  Hear,  on  this  subject,  the  opinion  of  the  elo- 
quent, pious,  and  learned  Robert  Hall,  late  of  Great 
Britain,  whose  faithful  warning  is  couched  in  the 
following  strong  language — "  Popery  still  is,  what  it 
always  was,  a  detestable  system  of  impiety,  cruelty, 
and  imposture,  fabricated  by  the  father  of  lies.  It 
combines  the  'form  of  godliness'  with  a  total  *  de- 
nial of  its  power.'  A  heap  of  unmeaning  ceremo- 
nies, adapted  to  fascinate  the  imagination,  and  en- 
gage the  sensesj — implicit  faith  in  human  authority, 
combined  with  an  utter  neglect  of  divine  teaching; — 
ignorance  the  most  profound,  joined  to  dogmatism 
the  most  presumptuous; — a  vigilant  exclusion  of  Bib- 
lical knowledge,  together  with  a  total  extinction  of 
free  inquiry; — present  the  spectacle  of  a  religion 
lying  in  state,  surrounded  with  the  silent  pomp  of 
death.  The  very  absurdities  of  such  a  religion  ren- 
der it  less  unacceptable  to  men  whose  decided  hos- 
tility to  truth  inclines  them  to  view  with  compla- 
cency whatever  obscures  its  beauty,  or  impedes  its 
operation.  Of  all  the  corruptions  of  Christianity 
which  have  prevailed  to  any  considerable  extent. 
Popery  presents  the  most  numerous  points  of  con- 
trast to  the  simple  doctrines  of  the  Gospel;  and  just 
in  proportion  as  it  gains  ground,  the  religion  of 
Christ  must  decline."  Surely  not  at  once  to  warn 
and  to  arm  our  children  against  this  fascinating  de- 
lusion, is  the  height  of  parental  unfaithfulness  and 
cruelty! 

But  it  is  not  enough,  my  Christian  brethren,  that 
you  forbear,  upon  principle,  to  commit  the  education 
of  your  children  to  Romish  instructers.     In  the  pre- 


LETTER  XIV.  269 

sent  posture  of  the  influence  and  efforts  of  that  deno- 
mination of  professing  Christians,  it  is  incumbent 
upon  all  who  would  be  exemplary  guardians  of  the 
best  interests  of  their  children,  to  make  themselves 
acquainted  with  the  Popish  controversy;  to  be  aware 
of  the  arts  and  plausible  arguments  by  which  the  ad- 
herents of  "  the  man  of  sin"  are  wont  to  "  deceive  the 
hearts  of  the  simple;"  and  to  arm  themselves,  not 
as  theological  polemics,  but  as  enlightened,  fuithfui 
disciples  of  Jesus  Christ,  with  those  moral  weapons, 
by  which  the  adherents  of  the  Papacy  are  refuted, 
and  the  "  simplicity  that  is  in  Christ"  established. 
Every  age  brings  v/ith  it  its  peculiar  dangers,  and,  of 
course,  its  peculiar  duties.  Among  those  which  be- 
long to  the  present  period  of  the  American  Churches, 
we  may  confidently  reckon  such  a  degree  of  attention 
to  the  claims  and  corruptions  of  the  Church  of  Rome, 
as  will  enable  faithful  witnesses  of  the  truth  to  bear 
an  enlightened  testimony  against  them,  and  to  guard 
the  children  of  the  Church  against  that  "  instruction 
which  causeth  to  err  from  the  words  of  knowledge." 
It  is  not,  however,  against  the  superstitions  and  the 
corrupt  allurements  of  the  Papacy  alone,  that  we 
ought  to  be  diligent  in  arming  and  guarding  our  chil- 
dren. They  are  like  lambs  in  the  midst  of  wolves. 
On  every  side  enemies  and  corrupters  of  the  truth, 
and,  of  course,  enemies  and  corrupters  of  souls, 
abound.  They  are  in  jeopardy  every  hour;  but  have 
neither  the  knowledge  nor  the  experience  to  meet  it 
with  safety  to  their  best  interests.  They  ought,  there- 
fore, to  be  sent  to  no  institutions,  the  conductors  of 
which  differ  essentially  from  us  in  their  views  of 
Gospel  truth,  and  will  be  likely  to  draw  them  away 
from  the  religion  of  their  fathers.  He  is  an  infatu- 
z  2 


270  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

ated  man  who  commits  his  children  to  such  hands. 
"  Parents  must  lay  up  for  their  children,"  in  a  moral 
and  religious,  as  well  as  a  temporal  sense,  or  they 
will,  probably,  be  undone.  With  respect  to  those 
parents  who  have  no  concern  about  their  own  reli- 
gious interests,  we  cannot  wonder  that  they  have  no 
anxiety  in  regard  to  those  of  their  children.  As  little 
can  we  be  surprised  that  those  who  consider  the 
prosperity  of  the  Church  as  a  matter  of  small  mo- 
ment, should  be  reluctant  to  make  any  sacrifice  of 
convenience  or  inclination  for  the  sake  of  preparing 
their  children  to  be  sound  and  useful  members  of  that 
hallowed  body.  But  that  professing  Christians,  who 
claim  to  love  Christ,  to  love  his  Church,  and  to  feel 
in  any  measure  as  they  ought  for  the  everlasting  wel- 
fare of  their  children; — should  permit  themselves  in 
providing  for  the  education  of  those  children,  delibe- 
rately to  prefer  the  ornamental  to  the  useful,  part  of 
their  training;  and  to  select  seminaries  and  teachers 
upon  the  avov/ed  principle  of  making  their  moral  and 
religious  subordinate  to  their  literary  culture — is  in- 
deed humiliating!  Never  shall  I  forget  the  lamen- 
tation of  one  whom  I  must  consider  as  a  pious  parent, 
who  mourned  over  the  deplorable  consequences  of 
such  a  course — and  said,  in  all  the  bitterness  of  self- 
proach — "Alas!  my  unhappy  mistake!  I  have  been 
supremely  intent  on  the  literary  improvement  and 
fashionable  accomplishments  of  my  son;  when  I 
ought  to  have  regarded,  first  of  all  his  moral  and  re- 
ligious principles.  I  was  ambitious  of  having  him 
great,  when  my  highest  desire  ought  to  have  been 
that  he  should  be  good.  Upon  this  unchristian  plan 
I  acted;  and  now, I  fear, he  is  ruined  for  both  worlds!" 
Princeton,  April,  1833. 


LETTER  XV.  271 


LETTER  XV. 

Doing  good  as  a  Church. 

Christian  Brethren, 

Useful  activity  is  the  medicine  of  life.  It  is  adapt- 
ed to  benefit  the  agent  himself  as  much  as  the  objects 
of  his  benevolent  attention.  No  idle  man  can  be 
either  healthful,  happy,  or  morally  prosperous.  To 
be  stagnant  is  to  be  miserable,  as  well  as  useless.  This 
is  a  law  of  our  being,  as  invariable  as  it  is  unavoida- 
ble. And  the  same  principle  which  applies  so  uni- 
versally and  essentially  to  our  intellectual  and  physi- 
cal structure,  is  no  less  applicable  to  our  spiritual 
life.  A  torpid,  inactive  Christian,  cannot  be  a  pros- 
perous one.  The  disciple  of  Christ  cannot,  if  he 
would,  "  live  to  himself,"  without  injuring  his  own 
soul.  He  must  go  out  of  himself,  if  he  would  attain 
moral  health  and  comfort.  He  must  take  a  deep  in- 
terest in  his  Master's  kingdom,  and  desire  and  seek 
to  promote  it; — he  must  love  his  fellow  men,  pray  for 
them,  labour  to  promote  their  holiness  and  happi- 
ness, in  a  word,  be  daily  employed  in  doing  good. 
This  is  necessary,  not  merely  for  the  benefit  of  soci- 
ety, but  for  the  spiritual  health  of  the  individual  him- 
self. It  is  not  more  certain  that  daily  work  nerves 
the  arms,  and  invigorates  the  health  of  the  labourer, 
and  thus  increases  his  personal  enjoyment;  than  it  is 
that  habitual  benevolent  activity  directly  and  essen- 
tially ministers  to  the  Christian's  own  growth  in 
grace: — or  rather,  to  speak  more  properly,  growth 


272  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

in  grace  itself  essentially  consists  in  cultivating  the 
spirit  and  habits  which  characterize  the  benevolent, 
prayerful,  diligent,  good-doing  Christian.  Wherein 
consists  the  health  of  the  body,  but  in  the  lively,  un- 
obstructed, harmonious  action  of  all  the  corporeal  or- 
gans? So  far  as  this  is  interrupted,  disease  must  be 
the  consequence.  In  like  manner,  wherein  consists 
the  real  health  of  the  soul,  but  in  spiritual  sensibility, 
and  in  the  daily  exercise  of  all  appropriate  and  com- 
manded graces,  toward  our  Father  in  heaven,  toward 
the  Saviour  and  his  kingdom,  and  toward  all  our  fel- 
low creatures? 

You  have,  no  doubt,  anticipated  me  in  applying 
these  remarks  to  the  Church  of  God — the  body  of 
professing  Christians.  What  is  true  of  individuals, 
is  true  of  communities.  A  torpid,  prayerless,  inac- 
tive Church,  however  large,  wealthy  or  splendid,  can- 
not be  a  prosperous  Church.  Nay,  however  rich, 
extended,  and  outwardly  flourishing  it  may  be,  if  the 
spirit  of  ACTIVE  good-doing  be  extinct  in  it,  it  is  a 
DEAD  CHURCH,  and  cannot  fail  of  speedily  becoming 
a  mass  of  spiritual  putrefaction.  But,  on  the  other 
hand,  that  Church  which,  in  her  collective  capacity, 
is  constantly  employed  in  planning  and  labouring  for 
the  promotion  of  the  great  interests  of  knowledge, 
virtue,  evangelical  holiness,  and  salvation,  is  taking 
the  most  direct  method  to  secure  her  own  enjoyment, 
growth,  and  prosperity. 

We  have  had  occasion,  more  than  once,  in  the  pre- 
ceding letters,  to  advert  to  the  thought,  that  the  great 
design  of  infinite  wisdom  in  the  institution  of  the 
Church,  was  that  she  might  be  every  where  instru- 
mental in  promoting  the  reign  of  truth  and  holiness 
among  men.     It  was,  no  doubt,  intended  that  she 


LETTER  XV.  273 

should  constantly  seek  the  spiritual  improvement  and 
welfare  of  her  own  members;  but  also  that  she  should 
labour  to  communicate  the  blessings  of  salvation  to 
every  part  of  the  human  family  within  her  reach, 
with  all  the  zeal  and  efficiency  of  united  effort.  The 
history  of  the  Churches  organized  by  the  apostles  af- 
fords unquestionable  evidence  that  ^/icy  so  understood 
the  design  of  their  Master.  From  them  the  word  of 
the  Lord  "  sounded  out"  through  all  parts  of  the  ci- 
vilized world.  Nor  did  this  noble,  disinterested  mis- 
sionary spirit  cease  to  operate  until  they  had  become 
secularized  and  corrupted  by  a  very  different  spirit. 
Accordingly,  our  venerable  fathers  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church,  in  the  introduction  to  our  Form  of  Go- 
vernment, justly  remark,  that  "  truth  is  in  order  to 
goodness,  and  the  great  touch-stone  of  truth  is  its 
tendency  to  promote  holiness."  In  conformity  with 
this  principle,  they  were  no  sooner  organized  than 
they  began  to  direct  their  earnest  attention  to  the 
great  work  of  sending  the  Gospel  to  the  destitute  and 
the  perishing.  And  in  all  ages,  both  in  the  old  world 
and  in  the  new,  the  Church  of  God  has  invariably 
flourished,  in  regard  to  her  best  interests,  just  in  pro- 
portion to  the  degree  in  which  she  has  devoted  her- 
self to  the  hallowed  work  of  active  Christian  benevo- 
lence. 

If  this  be  so,  then  every  Church  ought  to  consider 
it  as  equally  her  duty  and  her  interest,  not  merely  to 
support,  within  her  own  bosom,  all  the  divinely  insti- 
tuted ordinances  of  religion; — not  merely  to  watch 
with  fidelity  over  the  purity  and  edification  of  her 
own  immediate  members; — but  also  to  be  indefatiga- 
bly  active  in  extending  as  widely  as  possible  to  others 
the  true  religion,  with  all  its  blessed  concomitants 


274  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

and  benefits.  She  ought  to  regard  it  at  once  as  a  pri- 
mary duty,  and  precious  privilege,  to  be  constantly 
employed  in  spreading  the  glorious  Gospel  from  the 
rising  to  the  setting  sun.  In  a  word,  it  ought  to  be 
the  unceasing  care  of  every  Church  of  Christ,  what- 
ever denomination  she  may  bear,  or  under  whatever 
form  she  may  be  organized,  not  only  to  have  light, 
and  purity,  and  order,  ever  shining  in  her  own  dwell- 
ingsj  but  also  to  "hold  forth  the  word  of  life"  for  the 
benefit  of  "  those  who  are  without,'*  and  to  send  it 
forth  far  and  wide  to  every  creature  within  her  reach. 
So  manifest  and  so  important  is  this  duty,  that  if 
there  were  but  one  worshipping  Christian  congrega- 
tion now  on  earth,  that  congregation  ought  to  consi- 
der itself  as  solemnly  bound  to  do  all  in  its  power  for 
evangelizing  the  worlds  and  ought  to  give  itself  no 
rest  as  long  as  any  thing  which  it  could  possibly  do 
towards  the  accomplishment  of  this  object,  remained 
undone.  Before  this  position  can  be  so  much  as  ques- 
tioned, we  must  renounce  the  spirit  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament, and  trample  on  the  authority  of  our  Master 
ill  heaven. 

There  are,  at  present,  connected  with  the  Presby- 
terian Church  in  the  United  States,  nearly  two  thou- 
sand  preachers  of  the  Gospel;  about  two  thousand  Jive 
hundred  congregations;  and  more  than  two  hundred 
thousand  communicants.  In  stating  these  numbers  I 
do  not  mean  to  speak  with  scrupulous  accuracy,  but 
to  make  a  representation  sufficiently  near  the  truth 
to  serve  my  purpose.  Now,  suppose  all  the  officers 
and  judicatories,  as  well  as  the  private  members  of 
this  whole  body  to  be  engaged  with  unwearied  dili- 
gence in  the  great  work  of  Christian  benevolence. 
Suppose  our  two  thousand  preachers  all  to  possess, 


LETTER    XV.  275 

in  a  good  degree,  the  spirit  of  their  Master,  \vho 
"  went  about  doing  good."  Suppose  them  to  be  em- 
ployed, "in  season  and  out  of  season,"  in  proclaim- 
ing "  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ"  with  wisdom, 
with  affection,  and  with  power.  Suppose  them  in 
public  and  in  private,  in  the  pulpit,  in  the  lecture- 
room,  and  "  from  house  to  house,"  to  be  indefatigable 
in  calling  men  to  repentance,  and  in  publishing  the 
glad  tidings  of  mercy  and  love  through  a  Redeemer. 
Suppose  them  to  be  all  intent  on  promoting  the  intel- 
lectual and  moral  benefit  of  every  class  entrusted  to 
their  pastoral  care,  from  lisping  infancy  to  hoary  age, 
and  to  be  incessantly  contriving,  praying  and  labour- 
ing for  their  welfare.  Suppose  them  habitually  to 
meet  their  flocks  with  hearts  not  only  full  of  love  to 
the  souls  immediately  committed  to  their  charge^  but 
also  overflowing  with  benevolent  regard  to  perishing 
millions  in  every  part  of  the  globe,  and  burning  with 
desire  for  the  conversion  of  the  world.  And  suppose 
them,  in  the  exercise  of  this  great  animating  princi- 
ple, to  be,  not  only  the  sincere,  but  the  zealous,  active, 
and  unwearied  friends  of  all  those  benevolent  enter- 
prises of  the  day  which  have  for  their  object  to  pro- 
mote knowledge,  purity,  and  order  throughout  socie- 
ty, and  to  gospelize  the  whole  human  race.  Suppose 
this  to  be  the  case;  and  what  an  amount  of  good 
might  not  be  accomplished,  every  year,  by  two  thou- 
sand warm-hearted,  active,  unwearied  labourers  in 
the  field  of  Christian  benevolence,  thus  unceasingly 
occupied  in  scattering  temporal  and  spiritual  bless- 
ings around  them! 

If  this  were  the  character  of  our  pastors,  we  might 
expect  our  Church  Sessions,  and  the  mass  of  the 
Churches  over  which  they  preside,  to  bear,  in  a  good 


276  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

degree,  a  corresponding  stamp.  The  spirit  of  the 
several  shepherds,  if  properly  exhibited,  could  scarce- 
ly fail  to  pervade  the  flocks  comniitted  to  their  in- 
spection. When  the  eldership  assembled  in  their  re- 
spective parochial  judicatories,  from  week  to  week,! 
to  consult  respecting  the  edification  of  the  respective 
Churches  committed  to  their  care,  such  questions  as 
the  following  v/ould  constantly  arise,  and  would  be; 
discussed  with  solemnity  and  with  prayer:—"  What 
can  be  done  to  promote  the  reign  of  pure  and  unde- 
filed  religion  in  the  midst  of  us?  What  to  secure  the 
best  interests  of  our  children  and  youth?  What  to 
render  our  Sabbath-Schools,  and  Bible  classes,  and. 
Catechetical  instruction  more  useful  and  extensive? 
What  to  promote  the  cause  of  temperance?  What 
to  extend  among  young  and  old,  genuine  evangelical 
knovv'ledge  and  piety?  What  to  rouse  among  the 
people  a  spirit  of  active  Christian  benevolence? 
What  for  contributing  our  proportion,  and,  if  possi- 
ble, more  than  our  proportion,  of  means,  toward  the 
conversion  of  the  world?" — Animated  with  this  spi- 
rit, and  intent  on  such  objects,  every  Presbyterian 
Church  in  the  United  States,  would  be  an  organized 
society  for  spreading  the  Gospel;  for  sending  the 
word  of  life,  and  the  herald  of  salvation  to  the  desti- 
tute and  the  perishing: — and  every  one  who  united 
him.self  with  such  a  Church  would  feel  that  he  was 
becoming  "  a  member  for  life"  of  a  body  perpetually 
consecrated,  in  its  very  nature,  to  the  great  work  of 
"doing  good"  to  mankind. 

Again,  when  ministers  and  elders  filled  with  the 
spirit  which  I  have  described,  came  to  meet  in  Pres- 
bytery^ two  or  three  times  a  year, — what  a  delightful 
spectacle   might   they  not  be  expected  to  exhibit  I 


LETTER   XV.  277 

Here,  as  in  their  own  parishes,  they  would,  of  course, 
come  together  to  take  counsel  and  labour  for  the  ex- 
tension of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom.  This  body,  how- 
ever, being  more  numerous  than  the  Church  session; 
and  the  members  being  drawn  from  different  districts 
of  the  Church,  might  be  expected  to  bring  with  them 
a  larger  amount  of  the  hallowed  spirit  in  question, 
and  to  have  their  zeal  kindled  into  a  brighter  flame 
by  the  influence  of  a  more  extended  Christian  com- 
munion. In  this  judicatory,  the  representatives  of 
fifteen  or  twenty  churches  might  be  expected  to 
make  it  their  main  object  in  coming  together  to 
"lengthen  the  cords  and  strengthen  the  stakes"  of 
Zion;  to  hold  up  each  other's  hands,  and  to  encou- 
rage each  other's  hearts  in  forming  and  executing 
plans  for  the  spread  of  the  Gospel;  in  a  word,  by 
preaching,  praying  and  conferring  together,  to  gain 
a  deeper  impression  of  the  value  of  the  Gospel;  a 
more  heart-felt  sense  of  their  obligation  to  send  it  far 
and  wide;  and  a  new  unction  of  love  and  zeal  to  ani- 
mate them  in  their  hallowed  work.  Such  meetings, 
instead  of  being  a  burthen  to  the  congregations  in 
which  they  were  held,  would  be  anticipated  with  deep 
interest;  would  be  enjoyed  as  seasons  of  peculiar  and 
refreshing  Christian  fellowship;  and  might  be  ex- 
pected to  be  the  means  of  conferring  rich  blessings 
on  many  individuals,  both  saints  and  sinners,  when- 
ever they  occurred. 

Of  the  same  character,  but  marked  with  still  more 
enlarged  views,  and  more  deep  feeling,  might  we  ex- 
pect the  meeting  of  every  Synod  to  prove.  In  this 
judicatory,  from  three  to  six  or  eight  Presbyteries, 
united  in  one  body,  and  comprising  the  ministers  and 
elders  representing,  perhaps,  from  eighty  to  a  hun- 
2  a 


278  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

dred  churches,  assemble,  annually,  to  review  the  pro- 
ceedings of  Presbyteries  and  to  take  order  for  pro- 
moting the  peace,  the  purity,  and  the  edification  of 
their  portion  of  the  "  body  of  Christ."  Now  suppose 
in  this  larger  judicatory,  the  same  spirit  of  good- 
doing  to  reign  which  we  have  imagined  to  govern  in 
the  minds  of  the  individual  pastors  and  the  single 
churches.  Suppose,  after  despatching  with  fidelity 
and  wisdom  all  the  cases  of  discipline  and  ecclesias- 
tical order  which  came  before  themj  or  rather  in  the 
midst  of  what  might  be  called  the  ordinary  and  rou- 
tine business,  their  counsels  and  prayers  were  direct- 
ed to  increased  efforts  for  promoting  the  revival  of 
practical  religion;  to  the  excitement  of  new  zeal  for 
improving  Christian  education;  to  the  supply  of  des- 
titute settlements  with  Gospel  ordinances;  and  to  the 
adoption  of  all  practicable  means  for  sending  the 
"  light  of  life"  to  those  who  are  "  perishing  for  lack  of 
vision."  Over  such  counsels  and  labours  of  a  venera- 
ble Synod,  there  would  be  "  joy  in  heaven;"  and  we 
might  anticipate  great  joy  as  likely  to  flow  from 
them  throughout  the  habitations  of  Zion  on  earth. 

To  complete  the  system  of  counsel  and  co-opera- 
tion, the  General  Assembly  convenes  every  year,  to 
look  over  the  whole  Church,  from  New  Hampshire  to 
Florida,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  Missouri; — to  issue 
all  appeals  and  references  which  may  be  brought 
from  inferior  judicatories;  and  to  recommend  and 
endeavour  to  carry  into  execution  all  measures  for 
promoting  real  religion,  both  among  our  own 
churches  and  throughout  the  world.  This  body  it  is 
known,  constitutes  the  bond  of  union,  peace,  corres- 
pondence, and  mutual  confidence  between  all  the  mi- 
nisters  and   churches   of  our  denomination  in  the 


LETTER   XV.  279 

United  States^  and  is  expressly  charged  by  our  ec- 
clesiastical constitution  with  the  solemn  and  respon- 
sible duty  of  maintaining  truth,  order,  harmony,  and 
discipline  in  all  our  congregations;  of  corresponding 
with  foreign  Churches;  of  suppressing  schismatical 
contention,  and  every  species  of  irregularity;  and  of 
promoting  charity,  truth,  and  active  holiness  through 
all  the  churches  under  its  care. 

Only  conceive,  my  Christian  brethren,  of  the  be- 
nign and  precious  influence  which  this  great  annual 
Assembly  might  be  expected  to  exert,  if  all  the  mi- 
nisters and  elders  composing  it,  were  to  come  toge- 
ther, from  every  part  of  the  Church,  with  a  double 
portion  of  the  spirit  which  I  have  imagined  to  reign 
in  the  subordinate  judicatories.  Suppose  its  mem- 
bers to  convene  from  year  to  year,  with  hearts  filled 
with  brotherly  love;  with  enlightened  zeal  for  the 
extension  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom,  and  ready  to 
forego  every  consideration,  except  those  of  Scriptu- 
ral truth  and  order,  for  the  sake  of  doing  good.  Con- 
ceive of  such  a  body,  representing  every  portion  of 
our  Church  in  the  United  States;  animated  with  one 
heart  and  one  soul;  all  "  seeing  eye  to  eye"  in  regard 
to  the  essential  principles  of  Gospel  truth;  all  ho- 
nestly desirous  of  maintaining  and  carrying  into  ef- 
fect that  system  of  Eible  truth  and  order  which  they 
have  solemnly  subscribed  and  engaged  to  support. 
Conceive  of  an  Assembly  of  such  a  character: — 
where  all  minor  differences  were  swallowed  up  in  a 
supreme  desire  to  extend  the  Redeemer's  reign  and 
glory;  where  party  feelings  gave  way  to  Christian 
love;  where  no  banner  was  raised  but  that  of  Christ; 
and  where  the  only  contest  should  be,  who  should 
love  the  Redeemer  most,  and  who  should  serve  him 


280  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

with  the  warmest  zeal.  Conceive,  in  a  word,  of  an 
Assembly  made  up  of  the  wisest  heads  and  the  warm- 
est hearts  in  the  whole  Presbyterian  Church;  who 
had  come  together,  not  to  contend  for  victory;  not 
to  carry  points  of  sectional  or  party  interests;  but  to 
get  good  and  do  good;  to  enlighten,  purify,  and  re- 
vive the  Church  of  God;  to  promote  every  moral 
and  spiritual  interest  which  promises  to  benefit  the 
community;  and  to  devise  the  most  effectual  mea- 
sures for  sending  the  glorious  Gospel  far  and  wide 
to  all  who  are  sitting  in  moral  darkness! 

Such  is  the  picture  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
which  I  have  sometimes  imagined  to  myself,  and 
which  I  have  often  prayed  that  we  might  see  real- 
ized. What  a  glorious  spectacle  would  such  a 
Church  be !  How  happy  in  itself!  How  honourable 
to  the  cause  of  religion!  What  a  blessing  to  our 
land,  and  to  the  world!  And  is  it  too  much  to  hope 
that  we  may  one  day  see  it  realized?  The  same 
grace  which,  eighteen  centuries  ago,  raised  up  men 
"full  of  faith  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost;"  which  ani- 
mated and  sent  forth  bands  of  noble-minded  Chris- 
tian labourers  and  heroes  to  bear  the  word  of  life  to 
a  dark  and  dying  world,  and  which  crowned  their 
ministrations  with  success; — the  same  grace  is  still 
treasured  up  in  Him  whose  "throne  is  forever  and 
ever,"  and  may  be  manifested  in  us  amidst  all  our 
weakness  and  unworthiness.  The  same  Almighty 
King  of  Zion,  by  whose  consoling  and  sanctifying 
Spirit  it  was  that  the  churches,  even  in  the  days  of 
bitter  persecution,  "  had  rest,  and  were  edified;"  and 
"walking  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  in  the  comfort 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  were  multiplied," — still  lives,  and 
can  cause  his  ministers  to  be  equally  faithful,  and 


LETTER  XV.  281 

his  word  to  be  clothed  with  equal  power  in  our  day. 
Under  whatever  cloud  the  glory  of  our  Zion  may  be 
in  a  degree  obscured,  for  the  present,  He  can  cause 
her  to  shine  forth  with  more  beauty  than  ever, 
"  through  his  own  comeliness  put  upon  her." 

Do  you  ask,  my  Christian  friends,  how  this  happy 
attainment  may,  under  the  divine  blessing,  be  reach- 
ed? Do  you  inquire,  by  what  means  we  may  hope  to 
be  most  effectually  delivered  from  our  discord  and 
strife,  and  blessed  with  that  spiritual  peace  and 
strength  which  form  the  true  glory  of  a  church?  I 
answer,  let  us  adopt  the  policy  of  some  sagacious 
worldly  counsellors,  who  tell  us,  that  the  most  direct 
way  to  remove  a  morbid  action  in  the  animal  body, 
is  to  excite  a  different  and  salutary  action  in  its 
neighbourhood:— that  the  best  metliod  of  putting  out 
one  fire,  which  is  raging  and  likely  to  triumph,  is  to 
kindle  a  counter  fire.  Upon  the  same  principle,  if 
we  desire  m^ost  speedily  and  most  effectually  to  ex- 
tinguish the  fire  of  party  spirit,  and  to  arrest  the  pro- 
gress of  erroneous  opinions^  let  us  try  to  kindle  the 
fire  of  Christian  benevolence,  and  to  rouse  in  all  our 
congregations  and  judicatories,  from  the  lowest  to 
the  highest,  that  fervent  desire  for  the  spread  of  the 
Gospel,  and  the  salvation  of  a  perishing  world,  which 
ought  to  reign  in  every  heart,  and  in  every  Church 
which  bears  the  name  of  Christ.  Let  such  a  hallow- 
ed flame  be  kindled:  and  it  is  not  more  certain  that 
oil,  cast  on  an  agitated  body  of  water,  will  calm  its 
troubled  surface,  than  it  is  that  an  ardent  zeal  for  the 
extension  of  the  Redeemer*s  kingdom, — for  promot- 
ing the  temporal  and  eternal  happiness  of  mankind, 
— is  better  adapted  than  any  thing  else  to  calm  angry 
passions;  to  terminate  strife;  to  turn  away  the  minds 
2  A  2 


282  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

of  men  from  the  conflicts  of  selfishness  and  ambitionj  J 
and  to  bind  them  together  in  the  bonds  of  fraternal  ' 
affection.  Only  let  this  blessed  spirit  spring  up,  and 
exert  a  governing  influence  in  all  our  ecclesiastical 
assemblies; — and  their  meetings  will  of  course,  be 
peaceful  and  harmonious;  their  deliberations  will  be 
marked  with  gravity,  with  dignity,  with  mutual  re- 
spect, and  with  genuine  Christian  benevolence.  And 
when  their  business  is  brought  to  a  close,  the  mem- 
bers will  separate,  not,  as  has  too  often  happened,  with 
disgust,  alienation  and  weariness;  but  with  warmer 
affection  than  they  came  together;  will  return  to 
their  respective  charges  with  increased  attachment 
to  their  Master  and  his  work;  and  will  look  forward 
to  another  meeting  as  to  a  delightful  feast  of  Chris- 
tian fellowship. 

Here,  then,  my  Christian  brethren,  is  the  grand, 
and,  as  I  think,  under  God,  the  only  effectual  remedy  . 
for  all  our  ecclesiastical  difficulties.  The  prescrip- 
tion of  the  immortal  Howard  for  shaking  off  trouble, 
was  conveyed  in  the  following  strong  and  pointed 
language; — "Set  about  doing  good:  put  on  your  hat, 
and  go  and  visit  the  sick  and  the  poor  in  your  neigh- 
bourhood; inquire  into  their  wants  and  minister  to 
them;  seek  out  the  desolate  and  the  oppressed,  and 
tell  them  of  the  consolations  of  religion.  I  have  often 
tried  this  method,  he  adds,  and  have  always  found  it 
the  best  medicine  for  a  heavy  heart."  So  shall  we, 
as  a  Church,  find  the  spirit  of  active  good  doing,—- 
if  we  honestly  and  in  good  earnest  apply  it, — the  best 
cure  for  all  our  trials  and  conflicts.  And,  in  order  to 
the  attainment  of  this  blessing,  as  the  whole  cannot 
be  greater  and  better  than  its  parts,  it  will  be  our 
wisdom  to  begin,  systematically,  with  the  individual 


LETTER  XV.  283 

ministers,  elders  and  churches  which  compose  our 
aggregate  body. 

From  this  good  hour,  then,  let  every  minister  in 
the  Presbyterian  Church  feel  himself  just  as  distinct- 
ly and  solemnly  called  upon  to  engage,  with  his  whole 
heart,  in  the  various  benevolent  enterprises  of  the 
day,  as  he  is  to  preach  the  Gospel,  and  administer 
the  sacraments  of  the  Christian  Church.  Let  him, 
accordingly,  take  the  earliest  opportunity  of  forming 
within  the  congregation  committed  to  his  charge,  an 
auxiliary  Bible  association;  a  society  for  aiding  in 
Foreign  Missions,  and  another  for  aiding  in  Domestic 
Missions;  a  Tract  Society;  a  Temperance  Society;  and 
an  Education  Society;  in  short,  let  him  form  as  far  as 
possible,  cdl  the  members  of  his  church,  young  and 
old,  male  and  female,  and  as  many  of  his  stated  hear- 
ers as  may  be  willing  to  join  them, — into  bodies  more 
or  less  organized,  for  aiding  in  the  great  work  of 
promoting  the  extension  of  truth  and  happiness 
among  men,  and  bringing  the  whole  world  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  glorious  Gospel.  Let  even  the  little 
children  of  his  congregation  have  a  place  assigned 
them  in  these  hallowed  ranks  for  doing  good.  There 
is  no  danger  that,  by  pursuing  this  course,  he  will 
impoverish  his  people.  However  few  and  poor  they 
may  be,  it  will  rather  enrich  them  in  pocket  as  well  as 
in  soul.  He  will,  undoubtedly,  strengthen,  enlarge, 
and  build  them  up  in  it.  Those  who  are  engaged  in 
saving  and  giving  for  the  cause  of  Christ,  will  of 
course  be  economical  and  industrious,  and  will  gene- 
rally be  found  more  thrifty  and  prosperous  than  those 
who  live  without  this  sacred  impulse.  The  blessing 
of  the  Lord  will  infallibly  descend  upon  such  a 
church.   "  There  is  that  scattereth  and  yet  iiicreaseth; 


284  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

and  there  is  that  withholdeth,  but  it  tendeth  to  po- 
verty." No  children  and  young  people  will  be  so 
likely  to  be  all  that  their  parents  could  desire,  as 
those  who  are  trained  up  under  such  a  purifying  and 
elevating  influence. 

But  to  form  and  preside  over  these  benevolent  as- 
sociations in  his  own  church,  ought  not  to  be  regard- 
ed as  the  whole  of  the  Pastor's  duty.  Let  him  be  a 
member  of  each  himself.  Let  him  be  present,  if  pos- 
sible, at  all  their  meetings;  and  endeavour  to  impart 
to  all  of  them,  at  each  meeting,  a  new  and  more  pow- 
erful impulse.  Let  him,  whenever  he  meets  the  Elders 
of  his  church,  either  individually,  or  in  their  official 
capacity,  make  it  his  study  to  engage  them  cordially 
and  zealously  in  the  same  enterprise.  Let  him  in  his 
preaching,  in  his  prayers,  and  in  all  his  public  and 
private  intercourse  with  his  people,  study  to  recom- 
mend a  growing  attention  to  these  benevolent  objects, 
as,  at  once,  the  duty  and  the  privilege  of  all  Chris- 
tians. In  short,  let  him  habitually  regard  the  nur- 
turing, strengthening  and  extending  these  associa- 
tions, as  among  the  primary  objects  of  his  ministry; 
as  not  only  adapted  to  aid  in  the  great  work  of  con- 
verting the  world  to  Christ;  but  also  as  one  of  the 
richest  means  of  grace  that  can  be  employed  for  pro- 
moting the  spiritual  benefit  of  the  people  themselves 
who  are  zealously  employed  in  this  glorious  cause. 
The  truth  is,  a  faithful  pastor  cannot  possibly  engage 
his  people  in  any  work  better  adapted  to  draw  down 
blessings  on  themselves  and  their  children;  better 
adapted  to  enlighten,  to  sanctify,  to  enlarge,  to  en- 
rich, and  to  strengthen  themselves,  as  a  Church,  than 
to  engage  them  with  their  whole  heart  in  the  benevo- 


LETTER  XV.  285 

lent  enterprise  of  bringing  their  fellow  men  to  the 
knowledge  and  love  of  the  Saviour. 

A  Presbytery  composed  of  ministers  and  elders  who 
have  drunk  largely  of  this  spirit,  will,  of  course,  come 
together,  from  time  to  time  for  the  great  purpose  of 
DOING  GOOD.  Accordingly,  let  this  body,  whenever  it 
convenes,  while  it  attends  with  fidelity  to  all  the  de- 
tails of  review,  and  of  government  and  discipline 
which  demand  attention,  consider  these  details  as 
subservient  to  the  grand  purpose  of  ecclesiastical 
union,  doing  good  to  the  souls  of  men;  and  spreading 
the  knowledge  and  reign  of  the  glorious  Gospel.  Let 
the  members,  at  every  meeting,  make  it  a  primary 
object,  to  encourage  each  other's  hearts,  and  strength- 
en each  other's  hands  in  all  the  appropriate  labours 
of  Christian  benevolence.  Let  them  inquire  with  fra- 
ternal fidelity  and  affection  of  each  other,  what  is  the 
state  of  religion  in  their  respective  charges;  how  far 
the  benevolent  enterprises  of  the  day  are  counte- 
nanced and  sustained  in  the  several  congregations; 
and  what  further  can  be  done  to  extend  the  reign  of 
Christian  zeal  and  effort  in  all  the  Churches  under 
their  care.^  Let  every  meeting  of  the  Presbytery  be 
the  signal  of  a  little  jubilee  in  the  toAvn  or  village 
where  it  is  held.  Let  meetings  in  all  cases  in  which 
it  is  practicable,  be  marked  by  such  seasons  of  prayer 
and  mutual  conference  among  the  members  of  the 
body,  and  such  a  judicious,  pre-concerted  series  of 
public  services,  as  shall  make  it  an  object  of  earnest 
desire  among  the  pious  members  of  the  several 
Churches,  to  be  favoured  with  these  meetings  as  of- 
ten as  possible. 

Let  every  Synod  bear  the  same  character  and  take 
the  same  course;  only  remembering  that  its  larger 


286  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

size,  and  more  interesting  character,  will  ever  afford 
an  opportunity  of  rendering  its  meetings  more  deeply- 
impressive,  and  more  extensively  useful.  Let  every 
member  come  to  this  annual  convention  of  teachers 
and  rulers  in  the  house  of  God,  with  an  humble  de- 
sire and  fervent  prayer  that  he  may  be  enabled  to  get 
as  much  good  himself,  and  to  do  as  much  good  to  the 
Redeemer's  kingdom  as  may  be  possible  while  he 
and  his  brethren  continue  together.  Conducted  in 
this  manner,  every  Synodical  meeting  will  be  instru- 
mental in  giving  new  ardour  to  Christian  zeal,  and  a 
new  impulse  to  Christian  activity. 

When  all  the  subordinate  judicatories  shall  be  ani- 
mated with  this  spirit,  and  shall  convene  with  these 
views,  we  may  expect  to  see  the  General  Assembly 
crowning  the  whole  with  a  corresponding  character. 
Let  the  ministers  and  elders  deputed  from  the  respec- 
tive Presbyteries  all  come  to  our  ecclesiastical  metro- 
polis, as  so  many  single  streams  all  pouring  into  one 
mighty  reservoir  of  Christian  benevolence^  as  so 
many  fires  kindled  from  the  altar  of  God,  and  prepar- 
ing to  unite  in  one  sacred  flame  to  enlighten  a  dark 
world.  Let  them  come,  not  to  represent  parties — 
not  to  contend  for  victory — but  fraught  with  the  spi- 
rit of  DOING  GOODj  with  hcarts  overflowing  with  de- 
sire for  the  spread  of  the  Gospel,  and  resolving,  as 
God  shall  enable  them,  by  mutual  counsel  and  prayer, 
to  impart  new  life  and  vigour  to  all  the  departments 
of  evangelical  enterprise  within  our  bounds.  Let 
this  be  unceasingly  done.  Let  no  part  of  the  routine 
business  annually  devolving  on  this  court  of  ultimate 
appeal,  be  neglected  or  slighted:  but  let  the  subser- 
viency of  all  to  the  great  work  of  promoting  human 
piety  and  happiness,  and  evangelizing  the  world  he 


LETTER  XV.  287 

the  grand,  the  favourite  object  with  every  member. 
Let  the  opening  sermon  be  a  powerful  plea  for  united 
and  affectionate  co-operation  in  extending  the  Re- 
deemer's kingdom.  Let  every  prayer  that  passes  the 
Moderator's  lips,  at  the  commencement  and  close  of 
every  session,  and  every  speech  that  may  be  offered 
on  whatever  subject,  breathe  the  same  consecrated 
spirit.  In  a  word,  let  every  vote  that  passes,  every 
report  that  is  offered,  and  every  act  of  correspon- 
dence with  other  churches,  whether  at  home  or 
abroad,  disclose  the  hearts  of  men  supremely  intent 
on  exciting  one  another,  and  all  with  whom  they 
have  any  intercourse,  to  the  highest  efforts  for  pro- 
moting the  salvation  of  immortal  souls.  Let  every 
successive  General  Assembly  manifest  this  spirit, 
and  leave  behind  it,  when  it  dissolves,  a  series  of 
acts  which  display  the  reign  of  unfeigned  Christian 
benevolence^  and  more  will  be  done  to  gladden  the 
hearts  of  the  pious  than  my  feeble  pen  can  portray. 
The  month  of  May  will  be  considered  by  the  friends 
of  Zion  as  the  most  blessed  month  in  the  year.  Phi- 
ladelphia will  have  great  reason  to  rejoice.  Sur- 
rounding denominations  will  be  constrained  at  once 
to  respect,  to  love,  and  to  imitate  us.  And  an  annual 
impulse  will  be  given  to  the  progress  of  religion, 
which  will  be  felt,  not  only  through  the  United 
States,  but  throughout  the  world. 

Let  none  imagine  that,  if  this  course  were  pursued, 
our  minds  would  be  too  much  turned  away  from  doc- 
trinal correctness;  and  that  all  zeal  for  maintaining 
"  the  faith  and  order  once  delivered  to  the  saints,'* 
would  be  likely  to  languish  and  die.  My  impression 
is  directly  the  reverse.  If  such  a  spirit  were  to  be 
fully  roused  and  universally  to  reign  in  our  churches. 


^88  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

it  would  do  more  to  rectify  every  species  of  aberra- 
tion than  any  other  that  we  could  cultivate.  Only  let 
fervent  zeal  for  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  welfare 
of  mankind; — in  other  words,  the  deep  and  active 
spirit  of  DOING  GOOD,  reign  in  our  beloved  Church; 
and  we  shall,  undoubtedly,  witness  the  following  ef-^ 
fects: 

1.  There  will  be,  immediately,  much  less  heresy  in 
the  Church  to  be  put  down,  or  to  be  disputed  about. 
For,  as  the  prevalence  of  truth  never  fails  to  gene- 
rate a  spirit  of  active  obedience;  so  the  spirit  of  ac- 
tive Christian  obedience,  the  genuine  spirit  of  doing 
GOOD,  has  a  direct  tendency  to  promote  the  love  of 
truth,  and  of  course,  to  exclude  error.  Fairly  rouse 
a  missionary  spirit  in  the  Church,  and  we  shall  hear 
little  of  erroneous  doctrine.  Not  because  of  any  de- 
ficiency of  zeal  for  the  truth,  but  because  the  spirit 
of  holy  love  will  have  "  cast  out"  the  demon  of  he- 
resy. 

2.  Under  the  reign  of  the  spirit  supposed,  when 
heresy  does  occur,  it  will  be  put  down  more  quietly 
and  with  more  ease.  The  members  of  our  higher 
judicatories  will  consider  each  case  of  alleged  error 
more  coolly  and  impartially,  and  dispose  of  it  with 
more  of  a  spirit  of  mutual  confidence  and  affection 
than  at  present;  and  consequently,  with  less  contro- 
versy and  less  delay. 

3.  The  delicate  and  important  cases  of  discipline, 
which  come  before  our  Synods,  and  especially  the 
General  Assembly,  from  year  to  year,  and  which 
have  too  often  divided  and  agitated  those  bodies,  will 
be  decided  with  more  of  a  fraternal  spirit;  will  ex- 
cite less  heat  and  debate;  will,  of  course,  consume 
much  less  of  the  precious  time  of  the  judicatories; 


LETTER  XV.  289 

and  consequently,  leave  more  time  for  plans  and 
works  of  Christian  benevolence.  The  hearts  of  the 
members  will  be  so  intent  on  the  extension  of  the 
Redeemer's  kingdom,  that  they  will  have  no  disposi- 
tion to  attend  to  other  objects,  except  on  the  most 
obvious  call  of  truth  and  duty. 

4.  Our  higher  judicatories  will  assemble  with  a 
better  spirit^  under  a  higher  sense  of  responsibility; 
and  all  their  business  will  be  conducted  with  more 
solemnity,  more  affection,  more  prayer,  more  gra- 
vity, more  expedition,  more  comfort,  and  more  to 
edification.  The  younger  members  will  conduct 
themselves  with  more  modesty,  and  treat  the  elder 
with  more  filial  respect  and  reverence.  The  fathers 
will  be  neither  overbearing  nor  dogmatical;  the  sons 
will  avoid  that  flippancy  and  insolence  which  is  apt 
to  mark  the  conduct  of  those  youth  who  despise 
their  superiors,  and  think  of  victory  only. 

5.  The  BLESSING  OF  God  will  rest  upon  our  judi- 
catories, and  upon  the  whole  of  our  beloved  Zion. 
The  Spirit  will  be  poured  out,  and  religion  revived 
in  all  our  borders.  In  fact,  the  fervent,  active  spirit 
of  doing  good  to  mankind  by  bringing  them  to  the 
knowledge  and  love  of  the  Saviour,  is  itself  a  revival 
of  religion,  and  cannot  be  cultivated  without  an  in- 
crease of  the  spiritual  prosperity  of  those  who  che- 
rish it. 

6.  If  our  judicatories  be  seen  faithfully  and  stea- 
dily pursuing  the  course  which  has  been  described, 
prejudices  against  Presbyterianism  will  die.  When 
the  people  see  that  we  are  intent  on  doing  them  good, 
they  will  receive  us.  Our  very  enemies  will  be  at 
peace  with  us;  and  we  shall  no  longer  have  insidious 

2b 


290  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

enemies  in  our  own  bosom,  tearing  in  pieces  the  mo- 
ther on  whose  substance  they  live. 

If  we  wish  this  great  plan  of  doing  good  to  be 
completely  successful,  it  is  indispensable  that  it  bear 
TWO  characteristics.  It  must  be  systematic;  and  it 
must  be  consecrated  by  much  fervent  prayer. 

It  must  be  systematic.  That  is,  every  pastor  must 
endeavour  to  establish  among  his  people  the  habit  of 
doing  good  upon  a  plan.  That  which  is  left  to  the 
occasional  impulses  of  waxing  and  waning  zeal,  can- 
not go  steadily  and  strongly  forward.  The  profess- 
ing Christian  who  has  no  system  in  regard  to  his 
secret  devotions^  will  soon  find  his  closet  testifying 
against  him.  In  like  manner,  where  there  is  no  sys- 
tem in  doing  good,  the  cause  cannot  steadily  prosper. 
Let  every  pastor,  then,  endeavour  to  introduce  among 
the  people  of  his  charge  such  plans  of  effort  and  of 
contribution  for  promoting  the  Redeemer's  kingdom, 
as  will  distinctly  present  to  every  member  of  his 
Church,  and  to  every  attendant  on  his  ministry,  a 
stated  opportunity  and  call  to  do  something  for  the 
great  cause.  If  every  communicant  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church  could  be  prevailed  upon  to  give  twenty- 
Jive  cents  per  month,  or  even  half  that  sum,  into  the 
Lord's  treasury,  it  would  suffice  for  all  the  great  ob- 
jects of  general  Christian  benevolence,  which  the 
Church  is  now  endeavouring  to  bear  forward.  All 
but  the  veriest  paupers  could  do  this  with  perfect 
ease;  and  very  many  could,  v/ith  entire  convenience, 
give  much  more.  The  only  difficulty  which  attends 
the  subject  at  present,  is  that  of  regularly  collecting 
these  contributions.  But  if  pastors  were  animated 
with  the  zeal  and  diligence  in  doing  good  which 
ought  to  govern  them: — if  the  elders  and  deacons  in 


LETTER  XV.  29  1 

every  church  could  be  prevailed  upon  to  enter  into 
the  true  spirit  of  their  respective  offices,  and  daily  to 
move  about  among  the  people  as  ministers  of  good; 
if  every  active  and  discreet  private  member  had 
Something  given  him  to  do  in  his  appropriate  sphere, 
toward  helping  forward  this  cause;  and  if  every  con- 
tributor could  be  prevailed  upon  to  lay  by  what  he 
felt  willing  to  consecrate  to  his  Saviour,  at  the  end 
of  every  month,  or  year,  as  might  be  most  conve- 
nient, and  cheerfully  to  carry  it  to  the  collector,  in- 
stead of  waiting  to  be  called  upon,  and  even  repeat- 
edly dunned^  for  a  reluctant  offering; — if  even  the  lit- 
tle children  of  each  parish  could  be  habituated  from 
their  mother's  lap,  to  contribute  to  the  Redeemer's 
treasury,  from  week  to  week,  a  portion  of  those  pence 
which  they  commonly  spend  to  their  own  injury: — 
suppose  a  s^/^^ewi  of  this  kind  established  in  each  con- 
gregation, and  far  more  would  be  done  for  the  cause 
of  Christ;  and  what  was  done,  would  be  done  with 
more  ease,  with  more  cheerfulness,  at  less  expense  of 
agencies,  and  with  more  spiritual  profit  to  each  Con- 
tributor, O  when  will  professing  Christians  really 
feel  that  it  is  "more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive;" 
and  that  to  he  permitted  to  pray  and  labour  and  give 
for  extending  the  kingdom  of  Kim  to  whom  we  are 
indebted  for  all  we  enjoy  and  hope  for,  is  as  rich  a 
privilege,  as  it  is  a  solemn  duty?  Yet  all  this  might, 
I  firmly  believe,  be  in  a  considerable  degree  attained, 
if  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel  were  entirely  faithful 
at  once  in  their  instructions  and  their  example.  That 
it  will  be  happily  realized  before  very  long,  no  Chris- 
tian can  doubt.  Surely  the  sooner  we  come  to  it, 
the  better  for  ourselves,  and  the  better  for  that  cause 
which,  we  profess  to  love. 


292  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

The  second  characteristic  which  must  mark  our 
system  of  doing  good,  if  we  would  succeed,  is  that  it 
be  consecrated  by  much  fervent  jyrayer.  Nothing  is 
more  offensive  to  God  than  plans,  even  of  doing 
good,  undertaken  in  a  spirit  of  pride  and  self-confi- 
dence, and  prosecuted  with  carnal  ambition  and 
boasting.  Show  me  an  enterprise  thus  undertaken 
and  thus  pursued,  and  I  will  show  you  one  which 
will  speedily  come  to  naught.  The  King  of  Zion 
"will  not  give  his  glory  to  another."  We  must 
"walk  humbly  with  God"  even  in  labouring  for  him. 
The  more  profound  then,  our  sense  of  our  utter 
unworthiness  to  be  employed  as  fellow-workers  in 
Christ's  kingdom;  the  deeper  our  impression  of  our 
utter  inability,  with  any  amount  of  men  or  funds,  to 
accomplish  any  important  good,  by  our  own  wisdom 
or  strength;  and  the  more  humble  and  importunate 
our  continual  supplication  for  the  Divine  guidance 
and  blessing  in  all  our  labours,  the  more  reason  we 
have  to  hope  that  those  labours  will  be  crowned  with 
success,  and  that  our  own  souls,  in  pursuing  them, 
will  be  refreshed  and  edified. 

It  is  plain  from  the  foregoing  representations,  that 
no  individual  can  be  so  well  qualified  to  be  a  doer  of 
good,  as  he  who  is  deeply  pious;  as  he  in  whom  the 
love  of  God  and  of  man  is,  habitually,  the  ruling 
passion.  There  may  be  a  zeal  which  is  fervent,  and 
even  fiery,  but  altogether  false;  a  zeal  characterized 
by  heat  without  light;  by  feverish  paroxysms,  the 
product  of  external  stimulants,  rather  than  of  an  in- 
ternal, gracious  principle;  and  prompting  to  spas- 
modic, ill-directed,  and  sometimes  even  extravagant 
and  over-acted  efforts,  under  the  name  of  Christian 
benevolence.     Such  is  the  zeal  which  has  been  fre- 


LETTER  XV.  293 

quently  exhibited  by  men  claiming  the  character  of 
peculiar  devotedness  to  Christ;  and  full  of  censo- 
riousness  against  those  who  cannot  consent  to  ac- 
company them  in  all  their  headlong  excesses.  I 
need  not  say,  that  this  is  not  the  zeal  for  doing  good 
which  can  either  adorn  an  individual,  or  prove  a 
blessing  to  the  Church.  That  good-doing  spirit 
which  may  be  expected  to  last  long,  to  operate  well, 
and  to  bring  forth  with  constancy  an  abundance  of 
rich  fruit,  must  flow  from  sincere  and  ardent  piety; 
must  be  regulated  by  the  word  of  God;  and  must  be 
in  a  great  measure  free  from  the  narrowness,  and 
especially  from  the  bitterness  of  sectarian  bigotry. 
The  good-doing  spirit  cannot  really  prosper  in  any 
church,  unless  real  religion  prosper.  Yet  no  more 
direct  method  can  be  adopted,  as  was  before  said,  to 
make  real  religion  prosper,  than  to  commence,  in 
good  earnest,  a  course  of  active  benevolence.  Here 
"action  and  reaction  are  equal  and  (not  contrary, 
but)  coincident." 

Let  us  all,  then,  my  Christian  brethren,  with  one 
consent,  henceforth  address  ourselves  to  this  great 
work  of  DOING  good; — the  appropriate  work — and  I 
will  ventui-e  to  say — the  best  work  of  the  Church  of 
God.  To  this  let  us  daily  give  our  thoughts,  our 
hearts,  our  prayers,  and  our  best  efforts.  Let  this  be 
our  great  distinction  as  Presbyterians — that  we  be- 
long to  a  Church  peculiarly  and  pre-eminently  de- 
voted to  doing  good.  Let  others  set  their  hearts  on 
ecclesiastical  splendour,  and  be  mainly  intent  on 
multiplying  numbers.  Let  those  who  choose,  spend 
their  time  in  abusing  all  other  churehes  besides  their 
own,  and  in  sounding  the  praises  of  their  own  sect. 
Be  it  our  sacred  care  to  be  ever  found  "speaking  the 
2  B  2 


294  LETTERS  TO   PRESBYTERIANS. 

truth  in  love;"  pleading  the  cause  of  human  happi- 
ness; and  labouring  to  extend  the  reign  of  righteous- 
ness and  peace.  Be  ever  found  steadfast,  unmovea- 
ble,  always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  and 
verily  your  labour  shall  not  be  in  vain  in  the  Lord. 

PrincetoTky  April,  1833. 


LETTER  XVI.  295 

LETTER  XVI. 

Sectarianism. — Conclusion. 

Christian  Brethren, 

It  is  now  time  that  I  draw  to  a  close  with  this  se- 
ries of  letters.  Topics  of  discussiou,  indeed,  and 
those  of  a  deeply  interesting  character,  are  by  no 
means  wanting  to  furnish  matter  for  its  continuance. 
But  I  fear  that  I  have  already  trespassed  unduly  on 
the  patience  of  my  readers.  One  subject,  however, 
yet  remains,  on  which  I  cannot  forbear  to  make  a 
few  remarks,  before  taking  my  leave.  It  is  that 
which  stands  at  the  head  of  this  letter. 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  term  in  popular  use  more 
frequently  misunderstood  and  perverted  than  the 
term  sectarian.  It  is  commonly  used  as  a  term  of 
reproach;  and  yet  it  is  often  applied  to  a  character 
and  to  measures  highly  commendable.  In  all  such 
cases  it  is,  of  course,  most  unjustly  applied.  If  any 
one  manifest  that  he  decisively  prefers  the  doctrine 
and  order  of  the  Church  with  which  he  is  connected 
to  those  of  any  other  denomination: — if  he  write  a 
book  to  show  the  scriptural  warrant  of  that  doctrine 
and  order,  though  he  speak  with  ever  so  much  kind- 
ness of  other  portions  of  the  great  Christian  family; 
—or,  if  he  habitually  discover,  in  any  way,  a  strong 
attachment  to  the  Church  of  which  he  is  a  member, 
and  be  willing  to  labour  and  make  sacrifices  for  its 
benefit; — he  is  immediately  stigmatized  by  many  as 
a  sectarian.  If  a  body  of  professing  Christians  of 
any  particular  denomination,  form  a  society,  or  lay  a 


296  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

plan,  for  strengthening  and  extending  that  denomi- 
nationj — or  if  an  ecclesiastical  judicatory  be  found 
taking-  measures  for  promoting  the  prosperity  and 
enlargement  of  the  churches  committed  to  their  carej 
— though  all  this  be  done  with  perfect  inoffensive- 
ness  toward  their  neighbours,  their  conduct  is  im- 
mediately, by  multitudes,  branded  with  the  same  re- 
volting name.  In  short,  in  the  estimation  of  many, 
to  be  warmly  attached  to  the  ecclesiastical  body  with 
which  we  have  chosen  to  be  connected,  and  to  feel 
ourselves  peculiarly  bound  to  labour  for  its  interest, 
justly  exposes  us  to  the  charge  of  being  "  sectarians'* 
and  "  high-churchmen."  But  can  this  be  an  enlight- 
ened or  equitable  estimate?  Did  not  Christ  and  his 
Apostles  manifest  the  strongest  attachment  to  the 
truth,  and  an  equally  strong  repugnance  to  error? 
Did  they  not  utter  some  of  the  most  solemn  exhorta- 
tions to  search  after  truthj  to  hold  it  fast^  and  even 
to  "contend  earnestly"  for  it  against  all  opposers? 
Did  they  not  enjoin  upon  Christians  to  "  observe  all 
things  whatsoever  Christ  had  commanded  themj" 
and  to  "  keep  all  the  ordinances  as  they  were  deliver- 
ed unto  them?"  Was  this  sectarianism?  Were  they 
"  high-churchmen"  in  the  offensive  sense  intended? 
Jesus  Christ  had  a  most  unfavourable  opinion  of  the 
Pharisees  and  Sadducees  in  the  days  of  his  personal 
ministry;  warned  the  people  against  their  corrup- 
tions, as  equally  criminal  and  mischievous;  and  evi- 
dently laid  the  greatest  stress  on  what  he  proclaimed 
as  the  way  of  life.  Was  he  a  sectarian?  If  not,  why 
apply  this  term  to  those  who  are  actuated  by  the 
same  spirit,  and  walk  in  the  same  steps? 

In  countries  where  there  is  an  established  religion^ 
those  bodies  which  separate  from  the  establishmentj^ 


LETTER  XVI.  297 

and  form  distinct  religious  parties  or  denominations, 
are  called  sects,  and  those  who  belong  to  them,  secta- 
ries. But  in  countries  where  there  is  no  established 
religion,  there  can  be  no  sectaries  or  dissenters,  in 
the  technical  sense  of  those  words.  All  denomina- 
tions are  equally  sects,  that  is,  separate  divisions  or 
departments  in  the  great  family  of  nominal  Chris- 
tians. In  such  countries,  for  example  in  our  own, 
when  we  speak  of  the  Presbyterian  sect,  the  Episco- 
pal sect,  the  Methodist  sect,  the  'Baptist  sect, — we 
simply  mean, — without  the  smallest  disrespect — to 
designate  the  different  bodies  of  professing  Chris- 
tians known  by  these  names  respectively.  It  is,  in- 
deed, at  once  a  misfortune  and  a  sin,  that  the  Church 
of  Christ,  which  ought  to  be  one  in  name  and  in  pro- 
fession, as  well  as  in  fact,  should  be  divided  into  so 
many  different  denominations.  But  so  it  is.  Now 
each  of  these  divisions  is  a  sect,  or  section,  of  the  ge- 
neral visible  Church.  And  yet  the  individuals  who 
adhere  to  these  several  bodies,  provided  their  adhe- 
rence be  characterized  by  mildness,  candour,  and  in- 
offensiveness,  are  not  wont,  on  that  account,  to  be  re- 
garded with  less  respect,  or  to  be  loaded  with  oppro- 
brious names.  Their  opinions  may  be  erroneous, 
but  as  long  as  they  adhere  to  them  with  sincerity, 
and  without  bitterness  or  rancour,  they  deserve  no 
hard  names.  They  belong  to  a  certain  sect  of  the 
visible  Church.  They  prefer  and  peculiarly  love  that 
sect.  They  feel  bound  to  use  all  fair  and  Christian 
means  to  promote  its  enlargement  and  prosperity. 
And  all  this,  because  they  believe  it  to  be  that  cause 
which  is  warranted  by  the  Holy  Scriptures.  Is  this 
conduct  wrong?  As  long  as  they  entertain  this  opi- 
nion, would  they  be  innocent  if  they  did  not  act  thus? 


298  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

A  man,  then,  may  be  a  member,  and  a  very  devoted, 
zealous  member  of  a  sect,  and  yet  not  deserve  to  be 
stigmatized  as  a  sectarian. 

To  be  a  sectarian  is  something  very  different.  It 
is  to  be  inordinately^  unworthily^  and  offensively  de- 
voted to  a  sect.  Those  who  deserve  this  appellation 
are  habitually  governed  by  party  zeal^  and  that  zeal 
is  at  once  narrow  and  excessive.  They  can  see  little 
or  no  good  out  of  their  own  denomination,  and  little 
or  no  evil  within  it.  They  are  so  blindly  prejudiced 
in  favour  of  their  own  Church,  and  so  blindly  preju- 
diced against  every  other,  that  they  can  take  no  plea- 
sure in  the  prosperity  of  any  but  their  own.  Hence 
the  praises  of  their  own  they  are  constantly  sound- 
ings the  advantage  of  their  own  they  are  exclusively 
seekingj  and  as  to  the  edification  of  any  other,  they 
not  only  seldom  think  about  it,  or  pray  for  it;  but 
when  it  occurs,  it  really  seems  to  give  them  pain,  as 
an  event  adapted  to  demonstrate  that  there  may  be 
something  good  out  of  their  own  pale.  In  short,  the 
sectarian  is  one  who  is  shut  up  in  his  views  and  af- 
fections within  his  own  little  community,  and  seldom 
or  never  looks,  with  an  enlarged  mind,  and  a  benevo- 
lent heart,  beyond  this  narrow  circle.  When  he  is 
invited  to  unite  in  any  benevolent  enterprise,  the  first 
question  which  he  asks,  is — not,  whether  it  will  be 
likely  to  promote  the  interest  of  the  Redeemer's 
kingdom;  but  what  will  be  its  probable  bearing  on 
his  own  sect?  Not,  whether  the  salvation  of  souls 
will  be  secured;  but  whether  his  own  idol  will  be  ex- 
alted? He  feels  much  more  concern  that  some  little 
peculiarity  of  his  own  church  should  be  extended 
and  honoured,  than  that  thousands  of  immortal  be- 


LETTER  XVI.  299 

ings  should  be  made  partakers  of  salvation  under 
some  other  name. 

I  am  deliberately  of  opinion  that  of  real  sectarian- 
ism, thus  defined,  there  is  less — much  less  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church  than  in  any  other  body  of  pro- 
fessing Christians  in  the  United  States.     If  I  were  to 
make  any  exception  to  this  remark,  it  would  be  in 
respect  to  our  Congregational  brethren  of  New  Eng- 
land, most  of  whom,  so  far  as  I  know,  stand  on  the 
same  ground  as  ourselves  with  regard  to  the  point 
in  question.     Comprehending  them  with  ourselves, 
then,  I  would  again  deliberately  repeat,  that,  of  real 
sectarianism^  there  is  much  less  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  than  in  any  other  body  of  professing  Chris- 
tians in  the  United  States — perhaps  I  might  add,  in 
the  world.     The  great  Searcher  of  hearts  is  my  wit- 
ness that  I  say  this,  not  for  the  purpose  of  emblazon- 
ing and  flattering  my  own  denomination  (for  I  have 
had  occasion  enough  in  these  letters  to  find  fault  with 
it);  but  because  it  is  not  possible,  in  my  opinion,  ade- 
quately to  elucidate  my  subject  without  these  state- 
ments.    The  truth  is,  we  have  hardly  enough  of  the 
esprit  du  corps  to  prompt  us  to  take  the  trouble  of  de- 
feuding  ourselves  when  attacked  by  other  denomina- 
tions.    And  this,  not  because  we  have  a  less  clear 
conviction  than  others  of  the  truth  of  our  system;  but 
because  our    system   itself    is   more   pacific    and 
LESS  EXCLUSIVE  than  any  other  which  holds  to  the 
importance  of  truth.     For  one  instance  in  which   a 
Presbyterian  or  Congregational  minister  says  a  word 
in  the  pulpit  to  recommend  the  peculiarities  of  his 
own  Church,  or  to  the  disparagement  of  other  deno- 
minations, I  will  venture  to  iproduce  Jifty  examples  of 
this  conduct  in  the  churches  around  us.     We  can 


300  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

scarcely  enter  a  Baptist  Church,  without  hearing  the 
doctrine  and  practice  of  pedobaptism  denounced  and 
ridiculed;  and  very  often,  to  my  certain  knowledge, 
offensive  insinuations  uttered,  that  the  advocates  of 
infant  baptism  are  not  sincere;  that  they  know  bet- 
ter; but  have  not  the  honesty  to  follow  the  dictates  of 
conscience.  In  like  manner,  when  a  Presbyterian 
ventures  into  a  Protestant  Episcopal  place  of  worship, 
he  may  sometimes,  indeed,  hear  nothing  offensive; 
but  much  more  generally  he  will  find  himself  revolted 
by  claims  of  being  the  only  true  Church;  by  the  most 
extravagant  praises  of  their  Liturgy  and  prescribed 
forms;  and  by  intimations  that  all  who  are  out  of  the 
Episcopal  pale  are  to  be  regarded  as  not  Churches 
of  Christ  at  all,  and  as  "out  of  the  covenanted  way 
of  salvation."  And  how  often,  among  our  Methodist 
brethren,  do  their  pulpits  ring  with  invective  or  sneer 
against  other  denominations,  and  especially  against 
what  they  deem  the  hydra  of  Calvinism!  How  often 
do  they  openly  speak  as  if  theirs  were  the  only  deno- 
mination which  has  any  scriptural  life  and  power! 
In  fact,  the  frequency  of  such  occurrences  is  a  matter 
so  notorious,  that  those  of  other  churches  who  put 
themselves  in  the  way  of  being  assailed  by  the  seve- 
ral sects  which  have  been  mentioned,  expect,  pretty 
much,  as  a  matter  of  course,  to  have  their  feelings 
more  or  less  invaded  by  sectarian  claims,  or  hostile 
insinuations.  Now,  how  seldom — how  very  seldom, 
is  any  thing  of  this  kind  heard  from  a  Presbyterian 
pulpit!  Our  ministers,  in  nine  hundred  and  ninety- 
nine  cases  out  of  a  thousand,  utter  nothing,  either  in 
prayer  or  preaching,  but  what  any  evangelical,  pious 
Christian  man,  of  any  denomination  might  hear  with- 
out the  smallest  offence.     Nay,  to  say  the  truth,  I  can- 


LETTER  XVr.  30  I 

not  recollect  to  have  witnessed  or  heard  of,  in  the 
course  of  my  whole  life,  a  single  instance  of  a  con- 
trary character,  excepting  where  our  ministers  were 
called  upon  to  speak  in  the  defence  of  their  ministry 
and  creed  against  violent  attacks.  And  very  often,  to 
my  certain  knowledge,  such  attacks  have  been  passed 
over  in  perfect  silence,  either  because  it  was  supposed 
that  they  were  too  feeble  to  merit  notice^  or  because 
it  was  feared  that  a  proper  notice  of  them  might  in- 
terrupt the  peace  of  society,  or  at  any  rate,  wound 
some  individual  feeling. 

This  striking  anti-sectarian  character  of  our  be- 
loved Church,  is,  I  may  say  without  impropriety, 
sublimely  exemplified  by  the  unanimity  and  zeal  with 
which  our  ministers  and  members  unite  in  sustaining^ 
the  great  national  benevolent  institutions  which  are 
among  the  most  signal  glories  of  the  day  in  which 
v»'e  live.  Let  any  one  look  at  the  records  of  the  Ame- 
rican Bible  Society;  of  the  American  Tract  Society; 
and  of  the  American  Sunday  School  Union;  to  say 
nothing  of  other  noble  associations  less  unlimited  in 
their  nature  and  bearing; — let  any  one,  I  say,  look  at 
the  records  of  these  great  national  institutions,  which 
have  been  the  means  of  such  incalculable  good  to  our 
country  and  the  world; — and  then  say  whether  eight, 
if  not  nine-tenths  of  all  their  support  have  not  been 
derived  from  Presbyterians  and  Congregationalists. 
A  few,  indeed,  of  our  Baptist,  Episcopal  and  Metho- 
dist brethren  are  found  among  their  patrons;  but  so 
fev/  in  proportion  to  their  respective  numbers,  that 
we  may  pronounce  with  confidence,  that  if  we  and 
our  Congregational  brethren  should  all  withdraw,  the 
institutions  in  question  would  inevitably  sink. 

This  ought  to  be  known  and  understood.     We  are 
2  c 


302  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

almost  the  only  denominations  in  the  United  States, 
whose  views  of  Christian  doctrine,  of  the  holy  mi- 
nistry, and  of  the  Church  of  God  are  such  as  present 
no  obstacle  to  our  uniting  in  Christian  enterprise 
with  any  and  every  other  denomination  who  hold 
fast  the  essentials  of  true  religion.  Hence,  I  suppose 
bigotry  itself  will  not  deny,  that  all  the  great  national 
institutions  to  which  reference  has  already  been  had, 
are  of  Congregational  or  Presbyterian  origin;  were 
first  brought  into  being  by  their  charitable  desire  to 
unite  with  all  others  in  doing  good;  and  have  ever 
since  been  sustained  with  the  same  laudable  spirit. 
Some  denominations,  as  to  the  mass  of  them,  stood 
aloof  from  the  beginning,  and  refused  to  take  any  part 
in  these  liberal  enterprises.  Others  professed,  in  the 
outset,  to  come  in,  and  be  one  with  their  brethren; 
but  have  since  withdrawn,  and  have  set  up  separate 
Sunday  School  Unions,  separate  Tract  Societies, 
and  even  separate  Bible  Societies  for  themselves; 
thus  practically  declaring,  that  even  in  the  circulation 
of  the  "  Bible  without  note  or  comment,"  they  could 
not  unite  with  other  denominations!  The  different 
classes  of  Presbyterians,  together  with  our  Congre- 
gational brethren,  are,  so  far  as  I  can  now  recollect, 
the  only  Christian  denomination  in  our  country  who 
have  promptly,  unanimously,  and  perseveringly,  with- 
out the  least  semblance  of  sectarian  backwardness  or 
bigotry,  united  in  sustaining  and  bearing  forward 
these  precious  monuments  of  Christian  Catholicism 
and  benevolence  And  yet,  strange  to  tell!  these  very 
denominations  have  been  more  than  any  others,  load- 
ed with  reproach  as  sectarians;  and,  most  strange  of 
alll  few,  it  is  believed,  have  been  more  forward  in  re- 
peating and  circulating  this  charge  than  some  of  the 


LETTER  XVI.  303 

TQembers  of  precisely  those  sects,  who  have  been 
themselves  most  narrowly  exclusive  in  their  policy 
and  conduct,  and,  of  course,  most  justly  liable  to  the 
very  imputations  which  they  so  injuriously  cast  on 
lis  I  It  has  been  hard,  indeed,  to  hear  it  trumpeted 
abroad,  with  the  most  clamorous  zeal,  that  Presbyte- 
rians are  governed  by  systematic  sectarianism;  that 
they  are  ambitious,  high-church  bigots;  and  this 
trumpeted  by  none  more  loudly  or  confidently  than 
by  those  to  whom  we  might  with  propriety  say,  in 
the  language  of  Him  who  "  spake  as  never  man 
spake" — "  Why  beholdest  thou  the  mote  that  is  in 
thy  brother's  eye,  and  considerest  not  the  beam  that 
is  in  thine  own  eye?  Or  how  wilt  thou  say  to  thy 
brothel',  let  me  pull  the  mote  out  of  thine  eye,  and, 
behold,  a  beam  is  in  thine  own  eye?" 

But,  my  Christian  brethren,  let  none  of  these 
things  move  you!  I  have  spoken  of  this  as  a  fact 
strange  to  be  told!  But  I  recall  the  expression.  It 
is  not  strange.  It  ought  not  to  surprise  or  perplex 
any  one.  It  is  precisely  what  has  happened  in  all 
ages.  The  most  devoted,  zealous  and  truly  charita- 
ble and  disinterested  of  all  the  followers  of  Christ;  in 
a  word,  those  who  have  most  nearly  resembled  the 
Saviour  himself,  have  been,  in  every  period  of  the 
Christian  Church,  most  bitterly  reviled  as  ambitious, 
plotters  of  mischief,  and  enemies  of  mankind!  So 
the  Master  himself  was  slandered.  So  the  primitive 
Christians  were  perpetually  followed  with  calumny. 
And  so  have  those  been  ever  treated,  who  were  most 
distinguished  for  their  expanded  charity,  and  their 
distinguished  devotedness  to  the  best  interests  of  the 
human  race!  There  are  religious  denominations  in 
our  land  whose  narrow  sectarianism  is  conspicuous 


304  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

and  revolting  in  no  small  degree;  who  are  perpetual!;' 
denouncing  and  "  unchurching"  all  other  denomina- 
tions; or,  if  not  doing  this,  at  least  taking  measures 
to  build  up  walls  between  themselves  and  other 
Churches,  as  high  and  as  strong  as  those  of  Baby- 
Jon; — and  yet  their  sectarianism  seems  never  to  be 
thought  of.  The  charge  is  seldom  or  never  laid  at 
their  door.  It  would  seem  that  they  are  considered 
as  having  a  prescriptive  right  to  indulge  in  this  spi- 
rit, and  to  manifest  it  in  its  most  repulsive  forms, 
without  notice.  But  if  a  Presbyterian  happens  to  say 
a  word  in  favour  of  what  he  believes  to  be  the  truth 
and  order  prescribed  by  Christ  in  his  Church; — even 
if  it  be  in  the  strictest  self-defence — he  must  expect  to 
hear  himself  denounced,  without  ceremony,  as  a  nar- 
row "  sectarian,"  and  his  conduct  ascribed  to  ambi- 
tious and  sinister  motives. 

But,  I  say  again,  my  Christian  friends — let  none  of 
these  things  move  you.  The  same  thing  has  hap- 
pened to  the  best  Christians  and  the  best  Churches 
that  the  world  ever  saw.  None  are  so  apt  to  ima- 
gine the  existence  of  bigotry  in  their  neighbours,  as 
the  fiercest  bigots.  None  so  ready  to  suspect  others 
of  a  proselyting  and  encroaching  spirit  as  those  who 
are  most  entirely  under  the  government  of  this  spirit 
themselves.  The  truth  is,  as  you  can  scarcely  ever 
persuade  the  selfish  and  fraudulent  man  that  all  men 
are  not  actuated  by  the  same  principle  with  himself; 
so  in  religion,  the  most  narrow-minded  and  exclu- 
sive propagandists  are  ever  found  to  be  most  clamor- 
ous, and  most  obstinate  in  charging  a  similar  spirit 
on  the  most  devoted  and  disinterested  labourers  far 
the  benefit  of  mankind.  Be  not  surprised,  then,  that 
infidels  and  hostile  sectarians  have  united  in  charg- 


LETTER  XVI.  305 

ing  Presbyterians  with  aiming  at  a  religious  esta- 
blishment. Most  of  those  who  make  the  charge,  can- 
not but  know  that  it  is  false.  Our  history  and  our 
public  formularies  contain  testimony  on  this  subject, 
which  demonstrates  that  every  such  charge  is  a  ca- 
lumny. But  no  matter  for  that.  It  answers  the  pur- 
pose of  some  scoffers,  and  of  some  professing  Chris- 
tians, to  repeat  the  charge,  and  to  ring  upon  it  all 
the  changes  which  ingenuity  and  sectarian  motive 
can  suggest.  Heed  it  not.  Go  straight  forward  in 
that  humble,  benevolent.  Catholic  and  devoted  course 
which  your  professed  principles  require^  and  commit 
your  cause  to  Him  who  judgeth  righteously. 

Imagine  not,  however,  that  in  order  to  avoid  the 
charge  of  "  sectarianism,"  it  will  be  necessary,  or 
even  desirable  that  you  should  give  up  the  peculiari- 
ties of  your  own  Church.  It  were  just  as  reasona- 
ble to  tell  the  head  of  a  family,  that  in  order  to  esta- 
blish a  character  for  general  benevolence,  he  must 
abandon  all  special  care  of  his  own  household,  and 
spend  his  whole  time  in  taking  care  of  the  families 
of  others.  This  would  be  as  contrary  to  Scripture 
as  to  natural  aff'ection.  Equally  false  and  absurd 
would  it  be  to  tell  any  man  that,  in  order  to  exempli- 
fy the  character  of  a  Bible  Christian,  he  must  relin- 
quish that  peculiar  system  of  doctrine  and  order 
which  he  believes  to  be  laid  down  in  Scripture,  and 
contend  for  nothing  but  that  in  which  all  classes  of 
Christians  agree.  Would  this  be  acting  the  part  of 
a  faithful  ivitness  for  Christ?  Would  this  be  "  hold- 
ing fast  the  form  of  sound  words  once  delivered  to 
the  saints?'*  Would  this  be  "  observing  all  things 
whatsoever  Christ  has  commanded,"  and  "  keeping 
the  ordinances  as  they  were  delivered  unto  us?"  Sup- 
2c  2 


306  lettehs  to  Presbyterians. 

pose  all  professing  Christians  to  take  this  course,  and 
what  would,  long  since,  have  become  of  the  peculiar 
and  most  precious  truth  and  order  of  the  Gospel?  It 
can  never,  surely,  be  an  act  of  fidelity  to  our  Master 
in  heaven  to  abandon  v/hat  he  has  commanded  us  to 
hold  fastj  or  to  allow  complaisance  to  those  around 
us  to  interfere  with  that  testimony  which  is  incum- 
bent upon  us  as  disciples  of  Christ.  If  you  believe 
the  doctrines  and  government  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  to  be  agreeable  to  the  word  of  God,  it  is  un- 
doubtedly your  duty  to  maintain  them  in  their  puri-  , 
ty,  and  to  extend  their  influence  as  far  as  possible. 
Be  not  afraid,  then,  of  adhering  to  the  peculiarities 
of  your  own  denomination,  with  meekness,  but  at 
the  same  time  with  unwavering  fidelity  and  zeal. 
Every  principle  of  truth,  honour  and  consistency  de- 
mand it  of  you.  If  you  prefer  the  Presbyterian 
Church  to  every  other,  because  you  think  it  most 
scriptural,  ought  you  not  to  be  willing  to  avow  and 
manifest  that  preference.^  Those  who  would  stigma- 
tize this  course  as  "  sectarian,"  would  have  loaded 
with  the  same  unjust  reproach  the  blessed  Saviour 
and  his  inspired  Apostles. 

But,  while  I  say  this,  let  me  entreat  you  conscien- 
tiously to  avoid  the  spirit  of"  sectarianism,"  proper- 
ly so  called.  Hold  fast  your  own  opinions,  and  main- 
tain with  affectionate  fidelity  the  institutions  of  your 
own  particular  department  of  the  great  Christian  fa- 
mily; but  let  not  your  affections  be  confined  to  that 
department.  Ever  cherish  a  spirit  of  candour,  for- 
bearance, and  brotherly  love  toward  all  who  bear  the 
image  of  Christ,  by  whatever  name  they  may  be  call- 
ed. Never  forbid  any  to  "  cast  out  devils,"  nor  re- 
gret to  hear  that  they  have  in  fact  cast  them   out, 


LETTER    XVI.  307 

"  because  they  follow  not  with  us."  Rather  rejoice 
that  good  is  done,  by  whomsoever  effected^  and  that 
religion  flourishes  within  the  bosom  of  whatever 
Church  it  may  be.  This  was  the  spirit  of  the  Apos- 
tle Paul  "  Some  preach  Christ,"  said  he,  "  of  good 
Avill,  and  some  of  envy  and  strife.  What  then?  Christ 
is  preached;  and  I  therein  do  rejoice,  yea,  and  will 
rejoice."  It  is  not  your  duty  to  think  equally  well  of 
all  denominations: — but  it  is  your  duty  to  think  as  fa- 
vourably of  all,  as  the  word  of  God  will  allow  you; 
to  love  all;  to  pray  for  the  spiritual  prosperity  of  all; 
and  to  rejoice  when  you  see  evidence  that  God  is  pre- 
sent by  the  power  of  his  Spirit  and  his  Word  in  any. 
It  is  not  your  duty  to  believe  that  other  Churches, 
which  differ  materially  from  yours,  are  as  near  the 
scriptural  standard  as  yourselves: — but  it  is  your 
duty  to  acknowledge  and  honour  piety  in  them  where- 
ever  it  appears;  and  to  love  sincere  and  ornamental 
religion  in  one  of  another  denomination  more  than 
cold,  heartless  formality  under  the  Presbyterian  name. 
Leave  to  others  the  habit  of  continually  sounding 
the  praises  of  their  own  Church,  and  depreciating 
the  character  of  other  churches.  Your  time,  and  all 
your  best  energies  ought  to  be  employed,  not  in  fight- 
ing with  your  fellow  Christians,  but  in  opposing  the 
great  adversary  of  God  and  man,  and  in  doing  good 
to  the  souls  of  men.  Abhor  and  avoid  a  proselyting 
spirit.  I  might  mention  adherents  to  certain  sects 
who,  whenever  they  hear  of  an  unusual  religious  at- 
tention in  any  place,  immediately  commission  their 
emissaries  to  go  in  among  the  serious  inquirers,— 
not  to  instruct  them  in  the  way  of  salvation, — but  to 
perplex  and  ensnare  them  with  the  peculiarities  of 
their  own  body.     This  is  one  of  the  most  unworthy 


508  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

and  revolting  arts  of  sectarianism,  and  ought  to  be 
cordially  despised.  Let  nothing  of  this  kind  be  laid 
to  the  charge  of  Presbyterians.  Be  ever  ready  to 
unite  in  affectionate  intercourse,  and  in  doing  good 
with  any  and  all  denominations  who  appear  to  have 
the  Spirit  of  Christ,  however  they  may  differ  in  cir- 
cumstantials from  your  own.  In  a  word,  let  it  be 
seen  that  the  Presbyterian  Church  is  the  most  liberal 
Church  in  the  land^  that  it  has  fewer  points  of  repul- 
sion than  any  others  that  its  whole  spirit  and  struc- 
ture admit  of  miore  free  intercourse  with  sister 
Churches  than  any  other;  that  it  is  much  more  intent 
on  being  a  truly  pure,  spiritual,  and  actively  benevo- 
lent Church,  than  on  a  great  enlargement  of  its  size, 
or  great  increase  of  outward  splendour  / — in  fine,  that 
it  is  much  more  anxious  to  see  the  world  converted 
to  the  holiness  and  happiness  with  which  Christ 
came  to  bless  mankind,  than  to  see  the  peculiarities 
of  its  own  body  obtaining  universal  dominion. 

Manifest  this  spirit;  pursue  this  course; — and  it 
will  infallibly  "  turn  to  you  for  a  testimony."  It  will, 
beyond  all  doubt,  recommend  you  to  the  wise  and  the 
good.  You  may  not  in  this  way,  grow  so  rapidly  as 
some  other  denominations;  but  your  growth  will  be 
more  fair,  honest,  and  healthful  than  upon  any  other 
plan.  The  friends  of  social  and  ecclesiastical  purity 
will  rise  up  and  call  you  blessed.  I  am  aware  that, 
by  pursuing  this  course  you  may  sometimes  give  a 
temporary  advantage  to  the  insidious  votaries  of  sec- 
tarian zeal.  For  there  is  no  doubt  that  some  of  the 
most  bigoted  devotees  to  ecclesiastical  sect,  with  the 
language  of  the  most  exemplary  Catholicism  on  their 
lips,  have  been  found  meanly  availing  themselves  of 
invited  intercourse  with  other  denominations,  to  in- 


LETTER  XVI.  309 

crease,  by  indirect  methods,  the  numbers  and  conse- 
quence of  their  own.  Be  on  your  guard  against  such 
base  arts,'  but  rather  resolve,  in  all  cases,  to  suffer 
wrong  than  to  do  wrong.  It  is  in  spiritual  as  in  tem- 
poral things,  that  wiiat  is  gained  by  sinister  methods, 
is  seldom  enjoyed  either  permanently  or  w^ith  com- 
fort. 

I  have  sometimes  heard  it  suggested,  that  as  seve- 
ral other  large  and  important  churches  have  with- 
drawn from  the  American  Bible  Society,  the  Ameri- 
can Sunday  School  Union,  and  the  American  Tract 
Society,  and  have  established  corresponding  socie- 
ties within  their  own  denominations  exclusively; — it 
might  be  expedient  for  the  Presbyterian  Church,  in 
a  sort  of  self-defence,  to  do  the  same  thing;  and  to  set 
up  a  Presbyterian  Bible  Society;  a  Presbyterian  Sun- 
day School  Union;  and  a  Presbyterian  Tract  Society. 
Suggestions  of  this  kind,  from  whomsoever  they  may 
come,  ought,  in  my  view,  to  be  decisively  repelled,  as 
altogether  unwise,  and  as  highly  mischievous  in  their 
tendency.  If  Presbyterians  and  Congregationalists 
w'ere  to  abandon  those  national  institutions,  they 
would  undoubtedly  fall.  And  instead  of  being  per- 
mitted to  fall,  they  ought  rather  to  be  borne  forward 
with  increasing  patronage,  and  extended  with  daily 
growing  zeal.  What  though  they  do  not  immediate- 
ly minister  to  the  growth  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
as  such?  They  minister  to  that  cause  which,  I  trust, 
is  dear  to  the  heart  of  every  pious  Presbyterian; — 
the  cause  of  Christ,  and  of  human  happiness.  That 
ought  to  be  quite  enough  to  command  for  them  our 
faithful  support,  and  our  fervent  prayers. 

Nor  ought  our  patronage  of  those  great  national 
institutions  to  induce  any  forgetfulness  of  the  pecu- 


olO  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

Uarities  of  our  own  Church.  Presbyterians  univer- 
sally, I  hope,  consider  it  as  their  duty  to  lend  their 
hearty  and  persevering  support  to  the  American 
Sible  Society,  by  means  of  which  the  holy  Scrip- 
tures, "  without  note  or  comment,"  are  circulated  far 
and  wide.  Yet  this  circumstance  does  not  prevent 
their  taking  care  that  those  views  of  Gospel  truth 
and  order  which  they  believe  are  taught  in  the  Bible, 
should  be  faithfully  imparted  by  pastoral  labour,  and 
other  means,  to  themselves  and  their  children.  They 
take  up  the  precious  volume  if  they  are  faithful, 
where  the  Bible  Society  leaves  it,  and  cause  it  to  be 
explained  and  applied,  agreeably  to  what  they  consi- 
der as  its  genuine  import,  to  all  within  their  own 
pale.  Now,  if  you  pursue  the  very  same  course  con- 
cerning the  Sunday  School  Union,  and  the  American 
Tract  Society,  you  will,  in  my  opinion,  act  wisely. 
Patronise  those  institutions  with  more  and  more  ef- 
ficiency, every  year.  They  are  not,  indeed,  directly, 
and  far  less  exclusively,  ministering  to  the  extension 
of  Presbyterianism.  But  they  are  doing  what  is  far 
better.  They  are  labouring  with  zeal,  and  with  a  be- 
nefit which  no  man  can  now  calculate,  to  promote  the 
great  cause  of  knowledge,  virtue  and  religion  in  every 
denomination,  and  in  every  part  of  our  land.  When 
we  help  them  by  our  funds,  by  our  prayers,  and  by 
our  adoption,  as  far  as  we  deem  expedient  of  their 
plans  and  publications^  we  are  helping  forward  that 
great  cause.  Is  this  a  small  matter?  Is  this  an  ob- 
ject from  which  any  Christian  hand  should  be  with- 
held.P  What  though  the  publication  of  those  Socie- 
ties, respectively,  do  not  teach  us  and  our  children 
every  thing  that  ive  ought  to  learn?  They  teach  much 
that  is  precious;  much  by  which  we  may  all  essen- 


LETTER  XVI.  311 

tially  profit^  and  by  which  millions  out  of  our  own 
pale  are  every  day  profiting.  Of  course  when  we 
i  contribute  to  their  circulation,  we  confer  an  inesti- 
mable blessing  on  our  beloved  country,  and  enlarge 
the  boundaries  of  Christ's  kingdom.  When  we  wish 
the  children  in  our  Sabbath-schools,  and  the  rising 
generation  in  all  our  churches,  to  be  instructed  in 
those  things  which  relate  to  our  own  peculiar  views 
of  doctrine  and  order  as  Presbyterians,  it  would  be 
surely  very  unreasonable  to  expect  the  Sunday  School 
Union,  and  the  Tract  Society  to  do  this  for  us. 
Their  design  forbids  this.  Our  own  denominational 
interests  forbid  it.  Each  particular  Ecclesiastical 
Body  can  do  this  work  best  for  itself.  If  we  have 
Catechisms,  or  other  appropriate  manuals  of  Chris- 
tian instruction,  let  us  superacid  them  to  the  excellent 
works  which  the  national  institutions  provide.  Those 
institutions  cannot  possibly  do  more  than  furnish  the 
means  of  that  general  instruction  in  Gospel  truth,  in 
which  all  evangelical  denominations  agree.  Having 
done  this,  is  it  a  hardship  for  each  Church  to  take 
up  the  matter  where  these  general  manuals  leave  it, 
and  to  add  that  careful  instruction  in  any  thing  and 
every  thing  which  it  may  be  desirable  for  all  our  chil- 
dren and  church  members  to  know  as  Presbyterians? 
In  this  way  every  Church  may  be  perfectly  catholic, 
and  yet  perfectly  faithful  to  its  own  Formularies.  In 
this  way,  sectarianism  properly  so  called,  may  be 
completely  avoided,  and  yet  every  Christian  denomi- 
nation do  full  justice  to  its  own  distinguishing  pecu- 
liarities. If  Presbyterians,  as  a  body,  had  all  the  zeal, 
and  all  the  attachment  to  their  own  denomination 
which  generally  characterize  our  Methodist  brethren, 
without  a  particle  of  that  spirit  of  exclusive  bigotry 


312  LETTERS  TO  PRESBYTERIANS. 

which  too  many  of  that  body  manifest^  together  with 
a  love  to  the  image  of  Christ  wherever  it  appeared, 
and  a  readiness  to  unite  in  doing  good  with  all  who 
bear  that  image,  which  I  rejoice  to  say  many  Presby- 
terians cherish — we  should  have  that  beau  ideal  of 
Christian  Catholicism,  which  I  should  be  glad  to  re- 
cognise in  every  member  of  our  beloved  Church. 

And  now,  my  Christian  brethren,  I  must  bring  to 
a  close  a  series  of  letters,  in  which  I  sometimes  fear 
I  have  put  your  patience  to  a  severe  trial.  For  the 
kind  treatment  which  they  have  received,  even  from 
those  to  whom  they  were  not  acceptable,  I  feel  deeply 
grateful.  My  first  prayer  is,  that  what  I  have  writ- 
ten may  be  in  some  degree  useful,  by  promoting  that 
cause  of  truth  and  love  which,  unless  I  am  deceived, 
is  dear  to  my  heart; — my  next,  that  it  may  be  re- 
ceived with  that  fraternal  spirit,  from  which  it  has 
certainly  flowed. 

I  am  one  of  those,  my  Christian  brethren,  who  not 
only  wish  to  be  known  as  a  decided  Presbyterian; 
but  who  are  also  firmly  persuaded,  that  the  edifica- 
tion, and  even  the  continued  existence  under  any  re- 
spectable form,  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  abso- 
lutely depend,  under  God,  on  a  faithful  adherence  to 
our  public  formularies;  and  that  this  adherence  can- 
not be  attained,  but  in  some  such  way,  and  on  some 
such  ground  as  I  have  attempted  to  delineate  in  these 
letters.  If  we  cannot  cordially  meet  on  this  ground, 
I,  for  one,  have  no  hope  of  our  continued  union.  It 
will  be  to  little  purpose  that  we  patch  up  from  year 
to  year,  a  series  of  compromising  decisions,  for  the 
purpose  of  quieting  each  difficulty  as  it  arises.  Un- 
less we  can  unanimously  resolve  to  adhere  to  our 

PUBLISHED    principles; TO  ABIDE    BY  THE  ECCLESIAS- 


LfcTTER  XVI.  513 

TicAL  CONSTITUTION  w'hich  cvcry  minister  and  elderl 
in  our  body,  if  regularly  in  office,  has  solemnly  pro- 
mised before  God  and  man,  faithfully  to  maintain^ — 
we  may  be  nominally  one;  we  may  quarrel  on  to- 
gether for  a  little  while  longer;  but  we  cannot  long 
walk  together.  Discord,  strife,  and  at  no  great  dis- 
tance of  time,  a  total  rupture  must  be  the  conse- 
quence. 

If  there  be  any  within  our  bosom  who  are  reckless 
of  these  consequences,  I  must  be  allowed  to  say,  "  O 
my  soul,  come  not  thou  into  their  secret;  unto  their 
assembly  be  not  thou  united!"  They  may  be  called 
Presbyterians;  but  they  are  not  worthy  of  the  name. 
And  if  the  melancholy  consequences  of  which  I  have 
spoken  should  ensue,  they  will  have  an  awful  amount 
of  guilt  lying  at  their  door.  The  guilt  of  still  fur- 
ther rending  the  body  of  Christ;  of  destroying  much 
individual  Christian  peace;  and,  probably,  in  the  end, 
of  plunging  thousands  of  immortal  souls  into  reme- 
diless ruin,  will  cleave  to  their  skirts.  If  this  direful 
catastrophe  should  come,  may  I  be  so  happy  as  to 
stand  among  those  who  can  "take  God  to  witness 
that  they  are  clean  from  the  blood  of  all  men  I"  May 
I  be  found  among  those  who  shall  be  "weeping  be- 
tween the  porch  and  the  altar,  and  saying — spare  thy 
people,  O  Lord,  and  give  not  thine  heritage  to  re- 
proach; save  them,  and  lift  them  up  forever  1" 

But  it  is  not  yet  too  late  to  avert  this  evil;  nor  can 
I  yet  despair  of  ultimate  safety  and  peace.  To  effect 
this,  all  that  is  necessary  is,  that  we  unanimously  re- 
solve to  be  genuine,  consistent,  honest  Presbyterians. 
No  retractions;  no  new  system  of  measures;  no  hu- 
miliating concessions,  on  either  side,  are  demanded. 
If  we  simply  determine,  as  one  man,  to  bear  true 
2  D 


,yi4  LETTKl'.S  TO   PllESBYTERIANS. 

faith  and  allegiance  to  the  Church,  whose  constitu- 
tion y,ye  have  solemnly  subscribed,  tranquillity  and 
harmony  will,  with  the  blessing  of  God,  follow  of 
course.  We  may  love  as  many  good  objects  as  we 
please,  and  labour  as  much  to  do  good  as  we  please, 
out  of  our  own  pale,  provided  we  be  faithful  to  our 
obligations  within  that  pah.  To  so  reasonable  a  de- 
mand, can  any  brother  find  it  in  his  heart  to  refuse 
assent?  I  trust  not.  O,  if  we  could  see  such  a  spi- 
rit once  more  pervading  our  beloved  Zion,  how  ho- 
nourable would  it  be  to  religion  1  how  comfortable  to 
ourselves!  how  useful  to  our  troubled  world!  what  a 
happy  pledge  of  the  approach  of  that  period  when 
the  name  of  Christ  shall  be  one,  and  his  praise  one, 
from  the  rising  of  the  sun  even  unto  the  going  down 
of  the  same! 

Christian  Brethren,  farewell!  Grace,  mercy,  and 
peace,  be  multiplied  to  you  from  God  the  Father, 
and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  through  the  eternal  Spi- 
rit!    Amen! 

So  prays  your  affectionate  brother  and  fellow-ser- 
vant in  Christ, 

Samuel  Miller» 
Princeton,  May,  1833. 


M  ,  ' 


Princeton   Theological  Semmary-Speer   Librar; 


1    1012  01081    1935 


DATE  DUE 

JWN^ 

•44990 

-  >^-'~mmmmmm 

^'^mmmm 

¥^(imigmiiih 

\\i^\ 

l|«iP*W?F 

^■^pj^^^PW^ 

^llUlWtHw^^' 

^m 

%liiiiiiij,[j^;{Q^ 

) 

/ 

/ 

HIGHSMITH       #45220 


"V 


